The Japanese international struggled at Seville, though Aston Villa look to have missed their last chance to sign him.
It’s not often a player fails to make the grade at Sevilla. The Andalusian Europa League masters are, after all, renowned developers of talent and a rehab for players whose career has fallen off the rails.
Yet, Hiroshi Kiyotake, the diminutive Japanese playmaker, lasted just six months in Southern Spain making a surprising return to his homeland with Cerezo Osaka for a minimal fee. And, after Aston Villa failed to stump up a huge fee for his signature three-and-a-half years ago, as reported by the Daily Mail, have they missed a trick not reigniting their interest?
The Mail claimed in the summer of 2013 that Villa were priced out of a move for the £10 million-rated Nurnburg schemer due to Paul Lambert’s inability to shift a number of the club’s big earners off the books.
At the time, Kiyotake was one of the brightest young talents in the Bundesliga, a well-balanced, quick footed attacking midfielder thriving in the high-paced tempo of the German top flight.
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By the time January 2017 rolled around however, Kiyotake had suffered relegation with both Nurnburg and Hannover prior to a grand total of four La Liga appearances in half a season in Seville.
And, at just 27, a return to the Japanese league doesn’t exactly bode well for his long-term career prospects. Therefore, maybe a Villa side with the third lowest scoring rate in the Championship could have handed a supremely talented player in need of a break one his chance at last in England.
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They certainly wouldn’t have had to splash out £10 million anyway.
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