Martin Montoya has been with FC Barcelona since the age of eight, and has thus been developed by the club’s famous youth academy – La Masia. Despite earning just 38 appearances in La Liga, Montoya has garnered high praise from successive Barca managers, including the late Tito Villanova, who labelled him “an incredible player”. At the age of 23, Montoya is at the stage of his career where he simply needs to be playing regular first-team football. However, with Dani Alves continuing to remain as Barcelona’s primary right-back, and with Vicente Del Bosque spoilt for choice at the position, Montoya is a victim of the remarkable depth of both club and country. However, with his contract set to expire, Montoya is now set to leave Catalonia in January. The Independent’s James Orr reports that Montoya will express to his employers his desire to leave the club in January, with Liverpool cited as the likely destination. This follows comments by the player’s agent, Juan De Dios Carrasco. Carrasco told Spanish Radio channel Marca that he is “100 per cent sure (Montoya) will leave in the winter transfer market. He adds that “we only want to find the best club for him to continue his progression as a player. Clubs in Germany, England and Italy have already been in touch about signing him…[i]nside of Luis Enrique’s system, he doesn’t have a place, he’s behind both Dani Alves and Douglas. He thought he was close to taking Alves’ spot”. Liverpool would certainly make a lot of sense for a player who is adept at going forward whilst maintaining his defensive duties, and will rarely be forced into costly errors. Being a product of La Masia, he is a fine passer of the ball, and is capable of performing a role across all defensive positions. He played a number of games at left-back in 2013 under Villanova.
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