Celtic’s forgotten man Yosuke Ideguchi still has a chance to make it at Parkhead, according to Anthony Joseph.

The Lowdown: Ideguchi at Celtic

Ideguchi joined Celtic in the January transfer window of 2022 for a reported £850k from J-League side Gamba Osaka (via TeamTalk quoting from Yahoo Japan), arriving in the same window as fellow countrymen Daizen Maeda and Reo Hatate.

The former Leeds United man has failed to live up to the levels of Maeda and Hatate with the 26-year-old enduring a nightmare 13 months at Parkhead, making just SPFL, amid a host of injury and fitness issues plaguing his spell.

The Latest: Joseph’s comments

However, speaking to The Celtic Exchange, Sky Sports reporter Joseph revealed that the curtains are yet to be drawn on Ideguchi’s time in Glasgow and there could still be a way for him to make it at Celtic, saying:

(11:49) “It's only Ideguchi who's had trouble properly settling in, although he had an injury when he first came in so it took a bit longer for him to settle.

“I haven't totally ruled out (him leaving), it's not worked out yet for him but who knows, he might still have a future at Celtic if he can secure a loan move elsewhere and get some game time and we can properly see perhaps what level he is up.”

The Verdict: Can he turn it around?

Ideguchi was one of the first players to take the now well-trodden path from East Asia to Parkhead when he made the move but has been forced to watch Maeda, Hatate, and Kyogo Furuhashi all thrive in Scotland with new arrivals Hyeon-gyu Oh, Tomoki Iwata and Yuki Kobayashi all set to embark on their careers under Ange Postecoglou.

With Ideguchi reported to be one of the lowest earners at Celtic on £6k-per-week (via salary sport), he doesn’t concern the hierarchy at the club in terms of high wages with only Stephen Welsh on a lower salary in the first team.

After missing the start of the season due to fitness problems, Ideguchi return to the bench for just three games this season before not being involved in a match-day squad since October, failing to play a minute since last May on the final day in the 6-0 rout against Motherwell.

With the arrival of Iwata into midfield last month, the Japanese surely has to be considering his options to head out of loan with the J-League transfer window still open until March, 31 potentially offering him an avenue out.