However, he soon contracted hepatitis and had to return home to be treated by his father, a doctor; subsequently, he was loaned to CD San Fernando de Henares after the Royal Spanish Football Federation prevented him from joining his previous club.

[5] However, in his debut, a Trophy of Vallecas match against Sporting de Gijón, he suffered a collarbone injury;[6] his first appearances as a senior were made with the B team in the Segunda División B.

On 25 August he finally made his first-team debut, starting in a 2–1 La Liga away win against Real Betis, assisting Piti on one goal and scoring the decider.

On 3 November 2012 he provided a further two assists for Piti in a 2–1 away victory over Málaga CF,[10] scoring his fifth goal of the season the following matchday, a 3–2 home defeat of RC Celta de Vigo.

[17] He made his debut for his new team on 21 August, replacing Arda Turan in a 1–1 home draw with FC Barcelona in the first leg of the Supercopa de España, which was eventually lost on the away goals rule.

[20] He scored in the 2–0 away victory against city rivals Sevilla FC in the last-16 clash of the UEFA Europa League,[21] but the tie eventually ended in penalty shootout elimination.

[25] On 27 September, he helped defeat Atlético Madrid by scoring the game's only goal at the Estadio El Madrigal,[26] and four days later, against FC Viktoria Plzeň in the Europa League group stage, repeated the feat.