Noel Whelan has claimed that Leeds United duo Yosuke Ideguchi and Ouasim Bouy are not good enough and has urged the club to sell them.

Japan midfielder Ideguchi joined Leeds from Japanese side Gamba Osaka in January 2018, signing a four-and-a-half-year deal but he was immediately loaned out to Cultural Leonesa in the Spanish third division.

The 22-year-old then joined German second tier side Greuther Furth on a season-long loan and is yet to make an appearances for Leeds.

Leeds signed Dutch defender Bouy on a four-year deal at the beginning of the 2017-18 season and immediately sent him on a season-long loan to Spanish side Cultural Leonesa.

The 26-year-old returned to Elland Road last summer and was then sent out on another season-long loan move to Dutch side PEC Zwolle, after failing to impress Leeds head coach Marcelo Bielsa.

Ex-Leeds striker Whelan has urged his former club to sell both players and believes they will never make a first-team appearance for the club.

“They’re not good enough. They’ve been on loan for two seasons, which tells you everything you need to know. If they were good enough, they would be in the first-team squad,” Whelan told Football Insider.

“They can’t adapt to Marcelo Bielsa, he has brought in players from the Under-23s and chosen to loan them. That shows they won’t make it, as it’s not as if they’re especially young, either.

“They have been playing at a low level in Spain and Germany. If they were that good, they would be recalled to the squad. If we can get them off the payroll, I’d be doing that as soon as possible.”

Leeds finished third in the Championship table last season and Bielsa will be looking to build a squad capable of winning automatic promotion next season.

The Verdict

I couldn't agree more with Whelan here. I'd be totally shocked if either player is a part of Bielsa's plans for next season. They clearly don't have a future at Leeds and it makes no sense for them to remain at the club.

Both players have spent the last two seasons out on loan and they will probably want to leave Leeds to experience regular football, because it's highly unlikely that they will get that at Elland Road.

Moving them both on would be the best thing for all parties and Leeds could use the money to help strengthen their squad in other areas.