The signs that could suggest Ange is looking to use Yosuke Ideguchi in different Celtic role

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It has been a difficult six months for Celtic midfielder Yosuke Ideguchi.

The Japanese internationalist arrived at Parkhead in last January’s transfer window, alongside fellow countrymen Reo Hatate and Daizen Maeda.

Whilst both Hatate and Maeda went on to play a big role in the Hoops title push, Ideguchi was only able to make a handful of appearances in the second half of the campaign.

Of course, that was not always due to any fault of his own, after sustaining a nasty injury on his first start for the Bhoys in a Scottish Cup tie against Alloa.

The 25-year-old also faced the tough test of breaking into the side, ahead of the likes of Callum McGregor and Tom Rogic.

Despite rarely featuring, Ideguchi was praised by Ange Postecoglou on several occasions for his work rate and effort during training.

With that in mind, many Celtic fans were fascinated to see what kind of role the former Gamba Osaka man will play in pre-season.

So far, Ideguchi has featured in both of Celtic’s pre-season outings against Wiener Viktoria and Rapid Wien, playing the joint-most minutes of any player.

When the midfielder joined the Hoops, he was expected to play back-up to Callum McGregor, sitting in front of the defence. However, during pre-season, he has played in a more of an advanced role, ahead of the sitting midfielder.

This may be the area of the pitch that Ange Postecoglou sees Ideguchi as a vital option going into next season and potentially the replacement for the departing Tom Rogic.

When you also consider that the Celtic manager is actively chasing another sitting midfield option, it opens up the question of where Ideguchi may feature.

That question could, in turn, add more context to his advanced role during the early stages of pre-season.

It will certainly be interesting to see over the next few weeks, in friendly and competitive action, whether the January signing will continue to be deployed in that area of midfield.

In his short amount of minutes for first team, Ideguchi has looked tidy and impressed some sections of the fan base. So, I believe that supporters would be intrigued to see how this one plays out.

In other news, Celtic supporters are preparing for another exciting seven days as Paradise awaits.