Kiyotake to Hannover

Hiroshi Kiyotake will be playing Bundesliga football again next season, in Hanover rather than Nuremberg. After playing just five World Cup minutes, the Japanese midfielder will be wearing the red of Hannover 96 next season following a transfer from Nürnberg.

"We are pleased and happy that Hiroshi Kiyotake has decided to join Hannover 96, despite receiving a number of other offers," sporting director Dirk Dufner said.

While none of those other offers have been confirmed, it seems some Premier League clubs were also interested in Kiyotake and with good reason too. The Japanese attacking midfielder may not have reached the same heights as fellow countrymen Keisuke Honda and Shinji Kagawa, but his potential has been evident to all regular Bundesliga onlookers.

Even though stats don't make a player, Kiyotake's do indicate where his strengths lie. 19 assists in 64 Bundesliga games point towards his quality in speeding up and creating play in the attacking third. Nürnberg's strikers Daniel Ginczek (now at VfB Stuttgart), Tomas Pekhart and less so Josip Drmic (now at Bayer 04 Leverkusen) regularly benefited from Kiyotake's string-pulling in the area in between midfield and the edge of the box.

But when Nürnberg lacked goals, the club made the mistake of turning to Kiyotake for answers - seven goals in 64 Bundesliga games proves that is not his strength. Hannover, a side with a similarly concerning defensive midfield and only one threatening striker (the recently signed Joselu), must learn not to misuse the Japanese midfielder. Otherwise, they could suffer just as Kiyotake's former employers did.

This has made Kiyotake into a hot-and-cold type of player - he impressed against Werder Bremen on matchday seven of last season only to follow it up with a run of four fairly forgettable performances. He was also subbed out 14 times in 33 league appearances, not the sort of ratio you'd expect from a star player at a struggling club. In-game inconsistency has also affected the Japanese midfielder. Near the end of last season, Kiyotake assisted Nürnberg's lead against Wolfsburg but then as the Wolves bit back, both he and Nürnberg crumbled to a heavy defeat.

While Kiyotake alone cannot be blamed for such defeats - an often blunt Nürnberg strike force can be apportioned with some of that blame - the Japanese midfielder's determination under pressure will need to change if he's to break through his talent ceiling.

In that respect, joining Hannover appears a conservative move. With perhaps more demanding opportunities elsewhere, Kiyotake's decision to join a club with similar concerns to the one he has just left looks destined to lull him into stagnation.

While the club will certainly nurture his attacking prowess, Kiyotake must also take it upon himself to improve. He may be young, but he's no longer of the age where, in the professional game, allowances should be made in the name of development.

"Kiyotake is just 24 years old - his development isn't over," said Dufner. With that in mind and Hannover 96 as his new club, Kiyotake will have to push himself harder than ever if he wishes to become the player he is capable of being.

"Hiroshi Kiyotake is a versatile, attacking player who links-up well and takes good set-pieces," said Hannover's coach Tayfun Korkut. Let's hope at the end of the 2014/15 season, a few more attributes will have been added to the talented midfielder's list.