Everton should consider signing Nurnberg’s Hiroshi Kiyotake

Hiroshi Kiyotake takes a free kick during the Bundesliga match between 1. FC Nuernberg and FC Augsburg at Grundig Stadium on August 31, 2013 in Nuremberg, Germany. (Getty Images)

If you haven’t yet heard the name of Nurnberg playmaker Hiroshi Kiyotake, you might want to do yourself a favour and write it down. In big, bold letters that you can go over with a highlighter. For while he might not yet have the reputation to match his contemporaries in the Bundesliga, the 23-year-old is primed to be a breakout star. He could very well explode into the mainstream consciousness should he make a move to the Premier League when the transfer window opens.

Currently rated at around just £8.5 million, Kiyotake possesses the key threat that all playmakers must have—the ability to unlock a defence. Be that with a killer pass, his dynamic dribbiling or a cleverly selected shot. Kiyotake has the skills required to thrive in the No. 10 role (or even in a wide forward position if needed) and has shown that to be the case since moving to Nurnberg in 2012.

The 23-year-old led the team in Squawka’s Performance Score last year, and created more goal-scoring chances than any other player. In fact, only three other players in the entire Bundesliga created more goal-scoring opportunities than Kiyotake did, and two of them played substantially more minutes than the Nurnberg man. Kiyotake has continued that form again this year—creating 11 chances and two goals so far this year—with his Performance Score of 223 more than double that of any other player at the German club thus far.

Hiroshi Kiyotake’s chances created in the Bundesliga last season

As mentioned above, Kiyotake not only possesses the ability to break open a defence with a sumptuous through ball or cross, but also with his strong dribbling skills. Last season, he completed 57 of his 91 attempted take ons, which ranked him 21st amongst Bundesliga players. However, it’s worth noting that those 57 take ons came at a completion rate of 63 per cent, with only four players above him in those rankings achieving a similar or higher figure.

Should Kiyotate make a switch this summer, a club like Everton couldvery well be a good landing spot for him. The Toffees have money in the bank from their sale of Marouane Fellaini and could certainly use the Japanese star in the No. 10 role—playing alongside exciting youngster Ross Barkley. With in-form Romelu Lukaku sitting at the top of the attack, Kiyotake would finally have the world-class striker ahead of him to take advantage of his goal-creating ability.

Furthermore, Everton would have someone to run off Lukaku and take advantage of the space that his presence creates. In a sense, they’d have a perfect one-two punch—much like Arsenal are quickly discovering this year with Olivier Giroud and Mesut Ozil.

Kiyotake isn’t fazed by a world-class defensive midfielder coming up against him (shown most clearly in the way that he out-duelled Borussia Dortmund’s Germany international, Sven Bender, earlier this season) and is certainly a name worth watching out for.

The prospect of Kiyotake and Lukaku combining is not beyond the realms of possibility. Take note, Roberto Martinez.

Football graphics and stats from Squawka.