Yosuke Ideguchi could be set to leave Elland Road in the summer, after former club Gamba Osaka made a 'formal offer' to the midfielder to bring him back to Japan, Yahoo Japan have reported.

Ideguchi joined Leeds from Gamba Osaka in January 2018, but has failed to make a single competitive  first team appearance for the Yorkshire side since then.

The 22-year-old spent the first half season of his time at Leeds on loan in Spain with Cultural Leonesa, where he made just five appearances as they were relegated to the third tier of Spanish football.

The season just gone then saw Ideguchi sent on loan to Greuther Furth in the German second division, where a anterior cruciate ligament injury restricted him to just eight appearances in all competitions.

A report from The Yorkshire Evening Post recently claimed that Ideguchi is not in Leeds' first team plans for next season, although he does have three years remaining on his contract at Elland Road, meaning any interested party would have to pay a fee to Leeds for his services.

Prior to his move to Leeds, Ideguchi made 93 appearances and scored nine goals in all competitions for Gamba Osaka between 2015 and 2017.

The verdict

This would surely be a good move for everybody concerned.

Ideguchi just isn't getting the chances he needs at Leeds, who themselves seem to be looking to clear out a number of players who have struggled to make an impact at Elland Road.

A return to Japan for Ideguchi would help Leeds to start that clearout, and give the 22-year-old himself the chance to return to playing football on a regular basis again.