His signing from Hannover 96 would have surprised everyone if it were not for the fact that in the Sevilla technical secretary department, there works one of the men with most knowledge of the international transfer market: Monchi.

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The Andalusian club's sporting director masterminded the arrival of Hiroshi Kiyotake for 6.5 million euros and pursued his signing even before the change of manager in the Sanchez Pizjuan dugout, with the appointment of Jorge Sampaoli.

The La Liga club's president Pepe Castro commented, on the day of the footballer's presentation:

"The signing of Kiyotake is one of those that Monchi usually pulls out of the hat."

Though the Japanese midfielder picked up an injury early in pre-season, he has convinced Sampaoli with his subsequent play, and the Argentine boss has not doubted to give him increased responsibility in the team.

He played well against Barça in the Spanish Super Cup, and even better in the league opener against Espanyol, in which a mistake of his, which led to the final consolation for the team from Barcelona in a 6-4 Sevilla win, ended up being nothing more than an anecdote.

Sampaoli referred to this in his post-match analysis:

"He (Kiyotake) had an incredible game, and has been one of the foundations of the victory.

"When he has given so much during the game, it would be unfair to recall a mistake."

He was not the only one to give the Japan international recognition for his great match. La Liga included him in their team of the week, along with his teammates Pablo Sarabia and Franco Vazquez.

The adventure of Kiyotake in Spanish football has not started badly at all.