During a Facebook Live broadcast by Leeds United in early September, Victor Orta let slip that the Whites were seemingly involved in machinations aimed at bringing in another player.
In the Facebook Q&A session (video – below), Victor Orta made one very clear claim that Leeds United have another signing up their sleeve, with Orta calling it a “big surprise.”
#lufc pic.twitter.com/s0ioIiYzvJ
— Josh Butterton (@Buttylufc) September 4, 2017
This tantalising snippet of a tease by Orta cam in reply to a question asked by the Leeds fan, with Spaniard Orta more than clear in what he says with him stating: “…perhaps he arrived Pawel Cibicki of Malmö in the Sweden league and we are near to sign a big surprise from Asia.”
It was a mystery at the time but the mists started to clear on this with this article from Yahoo Japan.
The Yahoo article states quite categorically that Leeds United had made a move for four-cap Japan midfielder Yosuke Ideguchi, a 21-year-old who currently turns out for Gamba Osaka in Japan’s top-tier competition the J1 League.
The article also said that Ideguchi’s club have “received an official offer” from Leeds and carries a direct quotation from the player himself who says “I want to play in Europe someday…and I have already started studying English conversation.”
Now it appears that, according to Japanese media outlet Sanspo, that Belgian Jupiler Pro League side Sint-Truidense VV sit in the wings and ready to scupper the Whites move for the Gamba Osaka star.
Sanspo say that, in the face of his rising reputation at “world level“, that a move away from his native Japan is more than a likelihood and that “the overseas challenge will be decided at the transfer market this winter at the earliest.” Whereas once it seemed that it was Leeds United in the driving seat of this move, now there appears a pillion passenger in the Belgian Jupiler Pro League side
Sint-Truidense, who sit fifth in the Belgian top-tier competition, have Japanese online company DMM.com as a minority shareholder – a deal that came about in mid-June of this year. Belgian publication HLN reported on the deal and quoted the club saying: “With this partnership, STVV will strengthen and gain access to the Japanese market…In the meantime, it’s [the club] supposed to be playing some Japanese talent at STVV and giving the club a broader look.”
A further comment that may dismay any Leeds United fans with their eyes on Ideguchi as a prize comes via Sanspo’s notes about the strength of links between Sint-Truidense and Japan. As well as the minority share that DMM have taken in the Belgian club, Sanspo reveal that former Japan football “strengthening chairman” Masahiro Shimoda “is currently serving as a coach.”
Sanspo offer a ray of hope, a lifeline in that they say Leeds United have made a “winning offer” for the talented midfielder, but temper this with warnings that such a transfer would hit “difficult conditions of issuing work permits” which would mean that should the Whites win the race for Ideguchi’s transfer, that “he will have to transfer with a due date until he receives a visa or continue playing at Gamba Osaka.”
