is a Japanese

footballer A football player or footballer is a sportsperson who plays one of the different types of football. The main types of football are association football, American football, Canadian football, Australian rules football, Gaelic football, rugby le ...

who plays as a

midfielder A midfielder is an outfield position in association football. Midfielders may play an exclusively defensive role, breaking up attacks, and are in that case known as defensive midfielders. As central midfielders often go across boundarie ...

for

Vissel Kobe is a Japanese professional football club based in Kobe, Hyōgo Prefecture. The club plays in the J1 League, which is the top tier of football in the country. The team's home stadium is Noevir Stadium Kobe, in Hyōgo-ku, though some home match ...

in the

J1 League The , known as the for sponsorship reasons, is the top level of the system. Founded in 1992, it is one of the most successful leagues in Asian club football. Contested by 18 clubs, it operates on a system of promotion and relegation with the J ...

, on loan from

Shonan Bellmare is a Japanese professional football club based in Hiratsuka, in the west of Kanagawa Prefecture, part of the Greater Tokyo Area. The club plays in the J1 League, which is the top tier of football in the country. Their home stadium is Hiratsuka ...

. He played as a

defensive midfielder A midfielder is an outfield position in association football. Midfielders may play an exclusively defensive role, breaking up attacks, and are in that case known as defensive midfielders. As central midfielders often go across boundarie ...

early in his career.

Career

Mitsuki Saito was promoted to top team from youth team of

club

in 2016. He scored his first goal for the club on a 2-1 loss against

V-Varen Nagasaki is a Japanese J2 League football club based in Nagasaki. The club was established in 1985 as Ariake SC till they merged with Kunimi FC in 2004 and adopted the present name in 2005. The club gained promotion into the J. League Division 2 in 20 ...

at the

group stage A tournament is a competition involving at least three competitors, all participating in a sport or game. More specifically, the term may be used in either of two overlapping senses: # One or more competitions held at a single venue and concent ...

of the 2018 J.League Cup. On 14 December 2020, he joined

Russian Premier League The Russian Premier League (RPL; russian: Российская премьер-лига; РПЛ), also written as Russian Premier Liga, is the top division professional association football league in Russia. It was established at the end of 2001 ...

club

FC Rubin Kazan FC Rubin Kazan (russian: Футбо́льный клуб Руби́н Каза́нь, ''Futbolny klub Rubin Kazan'' , Tatar language, Tatar: Рубин Казан) is a Russian professional association football, football club based in the city o ...

on a 1.5-year loan with an option to purchase. On 16 February 2021 he was operated on due to an injury to ankle tendons, recovery was expected to last 4 months, he was not able to play for Rubin in the 2020–21 season. Upon his recovery from injury, he made his debut for Rubin on 12 August 2021 in a Europa Conference League qualifier against the Polish club

Raków Częstochowa Robotniczy Klub Sportowy Raków Częstochowa Spółka Akcyjna (commonly referred to as Raków Częstochowa, or simply Raków) is a Polish professional football club, based in Częstochowa, that competes in the Ekstraklasa, the top tier of na ...

. He substituted

Hwang In-beom Hwang In-beom ( ko, 황인범; born 20 September 1996) is a South Korean professional Association football, footballer who plays as a midfielder for Super League Greece club Olympiacos F.C., Olympiacos and the South Korea national football tea ...

in the 106th minute in the extra time, as Rubin lost 0–1 and were eliminated from the competition. He made his RPL debut for Rubin on 22 August 2021 in a game against

FC Khimki FC Khimki (russian: ФК Химки) is a Russian professional football club based in Khimki. The club returned to the Russian Premier League in the 2020–21 season. History The team was formed in 1996 by merging two amateur clubs from Khimki, ...

, he substituted

Darko Jevtić Darko Jevtić ( sr-Cyrl, Дарко Јевтић; born 8 February 1993) is a Swiss professional footballer who plays as an attacking midfielder for Russian side Rubin Kazan. He is of Serbian origin. Club career Basel Jevtić started his youth ...

in the 81st minute. On 31 August 2021, he was removed from Rubin's RPL squad once again. On 7 January 2022, he joined

Gamba Osaka is a Japanese professional football club based in Suita, Osaka Prefecture. The club plays in the J1 League, which is the top tier of football in the country. The club's name ''Gamba'' comes from the Japanese , meaning "to do your best" or "to st ...

on loan until 31 January 2023.

Career statistics

''Updated to 18 February 2019''.

Honours

Vissel Kobe *

2023 Events Predicted and scheduled events * January 1 ** In the United States, books, films, and other works published in 1927 will enter the public domain, assuming there are no changes made to copyright law. ** Croatia will adopt the eu ...

References

External links

*
Shonan Bellmare
* 1999 births Living people Association football people from Kanagawa Prefecture Japanese men's footballers Japan men's youth international footballers Men's association football midfielders Shonan Bellmare players FC Rubin Kazan players Gamba Osaka players J1 League players J2 League players Russian Premier League players Japanese expatriate men's footballers Expatriate men's footballers in Russia Japanese expatriate sportspeople in Russia Vissel Kobe players {{Japan-footy-midfielder-1990s-stub