Toronto FC’s quest for an attacking midfielder has led the Canadians to South America, where the club is set to look at Colombian playmaker Johnnier Montano.
The youngest player to ever play for the Colombian national team (he made his debut at 15), Montano is set to join Toronto’s training camp in Bradenton, Florida in the coming days with an eye toward potentially becoming Toronto FC’s first signing off the off-season, a source within MLS told SBI on Saturday.
Montano had established himself as one of the top players in the Peruvian league, and was slated for a transfer move to Alianza, but the move hit a snag when it was learned that Montano had a previous agreement with Alianza’s arch-rival, Universitario de Deportes. Montano has been ruled ineligible to play in Peru because of the conflict and is ready to try his luck in MLS.
Montano gained notoriety early in his career by appearing for Colombia as a 15-year old (and being on the country’s Copa America roster at 16), accomplishments that helped Montano make a move to Italian club Parma. He spent five uneventful seasons in Italy with Parma, Verona and Piacenza before bouncing around the Colombian league before settling in Peru with Sport Boys.
Can Montano play? The 30 25-year-old playmaker enjoyed a strong stint with Sport Boys, scoring nine goals. The skill is there, as is the goal-scoring ability, but the long list of clubs he has played for in the past eight years makes you wonder just how stable a player he is. (and yes, he is 25, not 30, having played in the 1999 Copa America as a 16-year-old.)
Here are some video clips of Montano with Sport Boys:
Montano with a nice pass
Montero with a 40-yard blast
A UEFA Cup goal against PSV during his time with Parma
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