Martin Montoya to Liverpool: Will it happen?

Martin Montoya

The most difficult part for any up-and-coming youngster is the step up from the youth team or reserves to the senior side. First and foremost, you have to be good enough to be considered and if you are lucky enough to receive a call from the manager, you are then faced with the task of proving yourself in the first team whilst most probably, displacing a player who has worn the shirt for a number of years or who is a fans’ favourite.

And that leads us nicely onto Barcelona’s young right-back, Martin Montoya – understudy to Barcelona’s Brazilian international, Dani Alves.

The 22-year-old is a product of the famed La Masia academy whom he joined at the age of 8. After progressing up the ladder, Montoya eventually ended up in Barcelona’s B team ten years later where he made a solidarity appearance in the 2008-2009 season. The following term he notched up a further 23 appearances under the tutelage of ex-Barcelona and Spanish international, Luis Enrique.

However, it was in the 2010-2011 season where Montoya would go on to make a further 30 appearances for Barcelona B and in turn, receive his first call up to the senior team, making two appearances in La Liga. The following term it was another 21 games for Barcelona B and ten appearances for Barcelona A.

And it was these ten appearances in the first team which prompted new coach, Tito Vilanova, to promote Martin Montoya to the first team squad for the 2012-2013 season. He would go on to play second-fiddle to Dani Alves – making 24 appearances in all competitions and scoring a wonder goal – a drive from outside of the box against Malaga in the final game of the season. This season, Montoya has shown his versatility as a player as he has been deployed at left-back filling in for the injured Jordi Alba.

However, displacing Dani Alves, who has been an integral part of Barcelona’s playing style and ethos for the past five seasons, was always going to be a mammoth task for anyone and unfortunately, the little Brazilian, who has only turned 30, has shown no sign of digressing or moving to pastures new. So, with Martin Montoya’s contract due to expire in June 2014, you could forgive the young La Masiagraduate for wanting to leave his home for 14 years in search of first team football elsewhere.

So just what kind of a player is Martin Montoya?

By trade, Martin Montoya is a right-back who is also comfortable on the opposite flank – evidenced by this season’s performances at left-back. He has all the traits of a modern day full-back in terms of being able to supplement attacks when the team have possession and defending when the team are without it.

Although predominantly right-footed, Montoya is technically brilliant with the ball at either of his feet. Being a graduate of La Masia, Montoya plays a simple passing game which is a trait of Barcelona’s tika-taka style of play.

Where many teams look to play the ball forward at speed, Barcelona tend to play pass after pass, working their way up the pitch and Montoya is certainly one who likes to keep it simple and is happy to play at a slow tempo where possession is key.

Defensively, Martin Montoya is a fine defender. His positional play is exceptional for someone so young and he is rarely caught out when defending one-on-one or zonally. He is a very intelligent full back who plays quite narrow which is probably down to Barcelona’s philosophy of keeping their players in tight-knit circles which enables them to play their exquisite passing game whilst keeping hold of possession.

As a result, Montoya is great at covering his central defender and is often seen in the box when most other full backs would be closer to the touchline with little effect defensively. This positional sense can also be traced back to the fact that Montoya also had a stint at centre-back whilst in the Barcelona B team, and indeed, keeping Marc Bartra out for a short while.

Montoya boasts a terrific engine, work ethic and has great physique for a full back. He is extremely strong on the ball and is not one to shirk a tackle. Indeed, many Catalans believe Martin Montoya is a more complete full back than Dani Alves – from a defensive standpoint at least.

Like Dani Alves, Montoya is equally deft at going forward. He has a burst of pace which means he can beat a man and is happy to support the attack whenever the chance arises – often overlapping Pedro or Cristian Tello in front of him.

However, what will impress most people is the simplicity to his game. He is extremely calm and composed on the ball and always seems to make the right decision – both defensively and offensively. For example, he plays a pass when a pass is the best option, he will run with ball when running with the ball is the best option and he is happy to shoot when a suitable chance arises.

As for the negatives, there are but a few. Although his positional sense is exceptional, Montoya can be prone to mistiming tackles on the ground or losing out in aerial duels.

Now, I like to keep away from individual statistics but Montoya could boast a 91% pass completion rate but, likewise, lost 50% of his aerial duels last season. Now the pass completion rate is extremely impressive – on paper at least.

However, there were times when Montoya would make pass after pass just for the sake of it; often passing along the back line when a forward pass was on. This means his game can be extremely slow and can be viewed unadventurous which could be something to consider when playing in the Premier League where the onus is on teams to attack and get the ball forward at the earliest opportunity.

So what of Liverpool’s interest?

Well, it is pertinent to point out first and foremost that the Barcelona fans are perplexed that the hierarchy have taken so long to offer Martin Montoya a new contract. The youngster was seen by many as the future right-back of Barcelona but with just 6 months of his contract remaining, there are real concerns that the club could lose one of their brightest youngsters.

There are a number of interested parties including Arsenal, Inter Milan, Napoli and Liverpool just to name a few. However, Liverpool seem to be in the driving seat for the moment due to the fact that they are willing to take Martin Montoya in January which will be to the benefit of Barcelona due to the fact that they will receive a fee for a man they could lose for nothing next June.

Of course, questions are also being raised as to why Martin Montoya would swap the Barcelona bench for Liverpool’s with Glen Johnson the club’s first choice right-back.

Well, Johnson is a year younger than Dani Alves but it is important to remember that he too only has 18 months remaining on his contract and there is the inkling that Fenway Sports Group are not keen on offering elder statesmen high wages when there is a possibility that a younger player could do the same job for far less money.

Then, of course, is the problem at left-back. Aly Cissokho has failed to impress just four months into his loan move from Valencia and with Jose Enrique injured and out of action until February 2014, Martin Montoya could slot straight into the first team at Anfield.

So the signing of Martin Montoya will be seen as a real coup should Brendan Rodgers and Liverpool pull off the deal. Montoya is seen by many to be a future Spanish international (he has 22 Under-21 caps and helped Spain lift the UEFA European Under-21 Championship trophy in Israel last summer) and is at the stage of his career where he needs to be playing first team football to fulfil his lofty ambitions.