Brendan Rodgers has spoken at length over the last seven days or so about the need for Celtic to trim down their squad this January.
The Celtic manager is on record as saying that he wants to bring in more quality in the coming window after questions were raised about the quality of the squad depth after his teams 0-0 draw with Hibs.
No one knows who could leave but the supporters will have a good idea in their heads who should be shown the Parkhead door.
However, one of those decision may be made easier for Rodgers after this weekend. And that’s because on-loan Celtic player, Yosuke Ideguchi is now wanted by Avispa Fukuoka after he helped the Japanese side create history.
TBR Celtic told three weeks ago how Ideguchi got his loan club to the J League Cup Final and that Avispa were on the cusp of winning their first trophy since they were founded in 1981.
They did just that after defeating Urawa Reds 2-1 in the final which sparked scenes of celebration that the club had never seen before. And now, according to Nikkan Sports, Avispa manager, Shigetoshi Hasebe, wants to make Ideguchi a permanent part of his squad.
Celtic must let Yosuke Ideguchi leave the club
The Japanese midfielder didn’t have the best of starts at Celtic. Competing against Callum McGregor for that defensive midfield spot was always going to be hard.
But when he finally got his chance against Alloa in January 2022, he suffered a serious injury that kept him out of the squad.
After he recovered, Ideguchi was then sent out on loan to Avispa to get himself more gametime and he has become an integral part of the team making 29 appearances for the club.
Clearly, his time in Japan has been successful and if Avispa make an approach to Celtic over the coming weeks to make the transfer permanent, the Hoops should allow this to happen.
With the greatest of respect, Ideguchi will not get any football at Celtic. There is now far too much competition for his place at the club.
With only two months of his loan deal to go, Celtic should save themselves some money and let him go to continue what looks like could be a prosperous career for the 27-year-old in Japan.
In other news, ‘Really?’: James McFadden can’t believe what VAR did during Celtic vs Ross County yesterday