Celtic’s Guchi dilemma

Yosuke Ideguchi joined Celtic on New Year’s Eve of 2021 as part of a trio of Japanese signings. He was seen as somewhat of a ‘project’ signing and cost the Hoops approximately £700,000 according to Transfermarkt. 

Before coming to Celtic, Ideguchi (or ‘Guchi’, as he prefers to be called) already had previous experience in Europe in stints at Leeds United, Spanish side Leonesa and German outfit Greuther Furth. However, all of these spells were ravaged by injury as he managed only 13 appearances for all clubs put together. 

As a result of his initial lack of success in Europe, the Japanese midfielder returned to Gamba Osaka in his homeland where he initially made his breakthrough between 2014 and 2018. 

Guchi was able to solidly rebuild his reputation at Gamba, making 86 appearances in his second spell at the club as he helped them to 7th, 2nd and 13th places finishes in the J. League in the 2019, 2020 and 2021 seasons respectively. 

The holding midfielder was able to disclose his tenacious yet polished style of play in his second spell at his boyhood club before earning his move to Celtic at the turn of the year. 

Upon arrival in Glasgow, the twenty five year old was grateful for the opportunity Celtic gave him despite his previous frustration in Europe, stating:

"This team gave me the second chance, so that's why I 100% wanted to go to Celtic."

Guchi would make his debut in a 15 minute cameo against Hibs in the league and went on to start the following match against Alloa in the Scottish Cup. However, as a result of a horrendous tackle which resulted in a retrospective two match ban for Mouhamed Niang, Guchi was left out injured. 

He returned almost a month later in the next round of the Scottish Cup against Raith Rovers, playing 21 minutes from the bench. 

Despite being fit since the Raith Rovers game in February, Guchi has managed to rack up only 6 minutes worth of action in all competitions, naturally raising question marks from fans. 

Celtic undoubtedly face a conundrum surrounding the Japanese midfielder with supporters barely even getting to see Guchi take to the field. Also, with two senior players in Callum McGregor and Nir Bitton appearing to be ahead of him in the pecking order for the number six spot in the Celtic team, any chances Guchi gets he’ll have to grab with both hands. 

Nonetheless, his firm defensive acumen can certainly offer the Hoops something different in midfield and with Ange Postecoglou’s men needing a win against Hearts this weekend to all but secure the SPFL title, the final few games of the season, if Celtic have already wrapped up the championship, could be the ideal opportunity for Guchi to get some minutes in his legs and show us what he can do. 

And whilst Guchi looks to salvage his club career, he will also attempt to revive his Japan national team accreditation at the same time. The midfielder has 15 caps to his name and with the World Cup coming up this winter, Guchi will be desperate to take any chances Ange Postecoglou gives him to earn a place on the plane to Qatar. 

Moreover, Postecoglou doesn’t just pluck players out of thin air and the Australian will assuredly have a plan for Guchi. Postecoglou has even spoke of this, telling Celtic TV via The Scottish Sun:

“But with all of these guys, I didn’t buy them for the first six months.

“They’re here for the next three or four years and I’ve no doubt he’ll become an important player for us over the course of time.

“He’s a team-focused guy and even when he’s not playing, you see him in training and he’s our hardest worker and that raises the levels for everyone”

Clearly, Guchi has been putting in the hard yards in training yet it looks like he will have to bide his time. It will be intriguing to see what he can bring to Celtic next season and it cannot be denied he will almost be like a new signing for Ange Postecoglou’s side. I for one, back him to finally make an impression in Glasgow in the upcoming 2022/23 campaign. 

What’s your opinions on Yosuke Ideguchi? Let me know in the comments below and also, don’t forget to follow me on Twitter @Josh_Footblog for more Celtic and Scottish football content.