Celtic announce first transfer of January window

Celtic have not been as busy this January as they were expected to be. A major reason behind that might be their upturn in form leading up to it, but fans will still be hoping to see a few fresh faces arrive this month. There has been some movement at Parkhead now, but it is an exit and not an arrival.

There are quite a few players who are expected to leave this month. The first of those exits is complete and has been officially announced.

As tweeted by Celtic's official account, Yosuke Ideguchi has joined J.League Champions, Vissel Kobe. It is a permanent transfer.

Ideguchi was signed by Celtic in early 2022, arriving at the same time as Reo Hatate and Daizen Maeda. While those two went on to become key parts of the team, the 27-year-old was never able to establish himself at Parkhead and only made a handful of appearances for the Hoops.

Celtic announce first transfer of January window

Ideguchi was able to bring his career back on track while away on loan at Avispa Fukuoka. He was one of the best players in the Japanese top flight last season.

Many expected Ideguchi to head back to Avispa Fukuoka on a permanent basis. But he has ended up joining last season's J League champions, Vissel Kobe, instead.

A lot of people were open to the idea of giving Ideguchi another chance at Celtic after how well he did back in Japan. But it looks like it was decided that this was the right time to part ways.

It remains to be seen what the future holds for Ideguchi. We can only wish him the best of luck at Vissel Kobe. On the other hand, Celtic have been linked with a few midfielders in recent weeks as well.