9 Sept 2013

'LFC are interested' - Reds chase 'incredible' €20m Barca star. Replace Johnson...?

The Agent of Spanish defender Martin Montoya has confirmed that Liverpool are keeping tabs on the 22-year old Barcelona right back, and he's hinted that a move could be on the cards sooner rather than later.

In an interview this evening, Jose Maria Orobitg confirmed that Barcelona have not yet offered Montoya a new contract, and suggested that if a new deal is not forthcoming, the young Spaniard will have plenty of suitors next summer. He told FCInterNews:

"The transfer market is now closed, but I can say that the renewal [of Montoya's contract] has not yet arrived.

"Inter Milan, Napoli, Bayer Leverkusen, Borussia Dortmund and Liverpool are interested"


In May, Spanish newspaper Spanish newspaper Sport reported:

"Liverpool are planning to make a move for Martin Montoya, and the club has already enquired about the status of the player. Brendan Rogers is a big fan of the Barca player, and wants to sign him to strengthen the right side of Liverpool's defence"

Due to injury, Montoya got a golden chance to impress in last season's Copa Del Rey final against Athletic Bilbao, Pepe Guardiola's last game managing the club. After the game, Guardiola enthused:

“Montoya had a fantastic game, he has many great years in the club ahead of him”.

Another former boss, Tito Villanova, also rates Montoya, and after the 2-2 draw with Real Madrid in October, he told reporters:

“Martín had Cristiano Ronaldo against him on his flank. But with the match he played, he showed us that he is an incredible player who can jump straight in, adapt and play great”.

Judging by his recent comments, Montoya seems to be happy at Barca and doesn't want to leave. He told Marca:

"It makes me feel proud. I have played here for 12 years now, and I have never wanted to leave. Barca are the team of my dreams. Training with the first team means working at a high rhythm, and always giving everything. You learn a lot in a short period of time."

With Dani Alves and Jordi Alba firmly entrenched in Barcelona's full-back positions, it's unlikely that Montoya is going to break into the team any time soon.

Montoya's contract - which has a €20m buyout clause expires next summer, and if Barca are not going to offer him a new deal, it seems likely that they'll sell in January to avoid losing him for free.

Competition for Glen Johnson at right back can only be a good thing, but with Andre Wisdom and Martin Kelly in the squad, is it a priority position to strengthen next summer, or even in January...?





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33 comments:

  1. Cant see it happening, Johnson, Kelly, Wisdom, Skirts, Flanagan, Mac Laughlin, we seem to be well covered in that area. More pressing needs elsewhere.

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  2. I wonder if Johnson's position at the club is in any danger. He's one of the last Benitez signings still at the club and going by the others he may be moved on. Any ideas what kind of wages he is on? I wouldn't like to see him sold because of high wages. I have always respected the way Johnson goes about his business at the club, he seems like a quiet and intelligent person. If he was being sold on I hope it is because there is a genuine improvement at the club.

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  3. Somewhere between 4M and 6M a year - too much.

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  4. How good is MONTOYA if BARCA aren't showing any urgency to get a deal done.Better than what we have? I doubt it.RYAN McLAUGHLIN is our future RB and I'm happy with what we have until he's ready to takeover.
    It wouldn't surprise me if we did go for this kid.It would give the club the opportunity to dump JOHNSON and his wages.Now REINA's gone out on loan, only SUAREZ and GERRARD get paid more than him.

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  5. Further reflection of how Rodgers is interested in defenders in the middle of the pitch but wingers out wide.

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  6. kenneth o sullivan1:47 am, September 10, 2013

    i dont think so bud . br loves him.i think rightly so .dont forget br plays him to go forward

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  7. wage cuts, then cheaper,cud be ,up n comers. the fsg way! they did their b-ball team.
    as long as BR is fully in charge of the squad,we might make a push this year,and its not cos of our 100% start,its cos u can see something different,exciting and sum flashes of brilliance YNWA

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  8. I think you need some older, experienced English players in the team. Happy for GJ to say

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  9. Or maybe Barca aren't showing any urgency because they feel they have enough quality in that position? It is Barcelona after all! With not wanting to pay high wages I think you're wrong. I don't believe BR liked what he saw in him and signed Mignolet instead who last season was the difference for Sunderland in a lot of games and he is a much better shot stopper than Reina. I know what I want in a keeper is a shot stopper not just someone isn't half bad at distribution. With Suarez why would Liverpool work so hard all summer to keep him if they weren't prepared to pay his wages? Oh and Gerrard just signed a new contract.

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  10. Who is the quality cover player BARCA have in the RB position? They only have him and ALVES in the first team squad that are natural right backs everyone else would be makeshift.
    You misunderstood what I was saying.I used the last 3 names to highlight how much GJ was being paid nothing more.Do you really think I'm saying we'd want to get rid of SUAREZ or GERRARD for wages?
    The SIMON MIGNOLET thing I agree with you.The way I structured my comment was wrong because read too much into it.
    But my thoughts on JOHNSON are if they could get him off the wage bill and bring in similar quality they would.That's not how i would do things (unless the upgrade in quality made complete sense) but it's what I think the club would be happy to do.
    I think we're are willing to big in certain positions but making a RB our third highest on the wage bill isn't a area the club wants to pay heavily IMO.

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  11. I agree with you i'm happy with JOHNSON staying.Let's see what happens in the next 2 transfer windows and see if the club feels the same.

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  12. One incredibly injury prone, two CB, one not good enough and one still so very young who knows what may happen. Leaves us with just Johnson. Yeah I'd say if a good right back came along we'd need to have a look.

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  13. Players don't get moved on because another manager signed them. They get moved on because they're not good enough or don't function in this system. I think Johnson has never been so good as under Rodgers so I'm sure his future is safe.

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  14. Reina's wages were a factor because he was going to sit on the bench for them. Johnson plays every week when fit. Ergo, wages are not a factor.

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  15. I would like to see Wisdom and Kelly get a real shot. Both are talented, strong and mobile. If one of these two are slated for cb by BR then maybe we take a shot at Montoya. I just don't see Barca letting him go when he is 2nd behind Alves.

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  16. Wisdom will get his shot right now with Johnson out. Kelly needs to get and stay fit first.

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  17. I didn't mean to imply you are stupid my friend. I just pointed out why Johnson and Reina are not comparable. I also think that if it ain't broke, don't fix it. So if Johnson continues to do well as he has been doing under BR so far, I think wages would be a very bad reason to tinker with that. After all, you never know if the person coming in, even if he has the same qualties, is going to work for you. Perfect example is Veron. Great player. Fantastic player actually. Ability wise definitely at the same level as Scholes yet he never had the same impact.

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  18. FACT: After a year or so playing regularly on top level Montoya will be a way out overall better right back than Johnson.

    Watched almost all of his appearances for Barcelona. If Dani Alves wasn't called Dani Alves and Adriano wasn't already proven and on his best days among his football career then Montoya could have played regularly and excel at Barcelona no question [saw him put better performances than Alves while Dani was injured and still didn't got picked over him. . . You know how it goes]. His a fluent player which almost never make wrong choices, every aspect of his game is brilliant.

    I would say that if Johnson doesn't regain his top form from those old days this season [doesn't seem to go this road, to be perfectly honest], then no doubt signing Montoya should be realistic and a fantastic purchase to say the least.

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  19. come on already. . . Wisdom at his best will be a good SUB for a top club - right now his still not even at that state.

    You know, i start to trust BR more and more - sending Wisdom on loan would have been a great move.
    More than that, Barca also have Adriano who plays great at RB and is chosen over Montoya at the current state almost every time.
    What LFC should do is to get Montoya on Jan for a low sum before other big teams such has Arsenal, Dortmund jump in; send Wisdom on loan. In summer, make decision towards which how to play the sum of having both Kelly, Johnson, Wisdom and Montoya. I would go on with loaning Wisdom and always push a somehow option for a somehow return clause in his contract. Montoya is just a super player, a bargain, there's nothing you can do abut it.

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  20. Sorry, for a GOOD club, idk about a TOP club. That's just reality.

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  21. O, and also for some reason Barca changed in a way of letting those yound ones leave. I don't know why. Stupid them. Tiago, Tello almost left. Something is going on there. I think if teams push hard enough they can get players like Montoya at the current shape of things.

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  22. AlexandroPortentoAguari9:26 am, September 10, 2013

    If we play well and better till Jan, we might actually beat the other clubs to sign him, with us being able to offer him more minutes than Arsenal (i don't know what Dortmund have there). We also have them Spaniards, his young and might feel in which the LFC will be the best choice. Will love to see this one sign.

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  23. But players do get moved on for high wages, especially at Liverpool. He was signed for a high fee all those years back I just figured he would have high wages. I hope he does stay anyway.

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  24. Yeah I'm a fan too, more so in this system where he's not required to defend as much.

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  25. I'd prefer Montoya over the other options we have at RB and let him compete with Johnson for his position or we could even make G.Johnson play on LB and increase the competition for that place as well.

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  26. They get moved on if there is no return for those high wages. Reina was going to sit on the bench for 100k a week whereas Jones is probably at half that. For those few times that you need a reserve keeper the return on investment for Reina would just not have been high enough. Johnson on the other hand plays every single week.

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  27. Get him and tello from them in January. Add that with freddy guarin. Quality attacking mid. And possibly a centre mid

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  28. having planned ahead, as an intelligent guy,
    glen johnson has become fluent in spanish and would like to end his career out there in the sunshine...who can blame him?

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  29. Johnson fits BR's system perfectly. He'll start for this season and probably next, and then he will be moved on before his value drops too much because of age (or lose his starting position and earn reduced wages).

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  30. If a foreign player is worth 15 mil,they're mostly comes with great profile and ability compare to british players who can show a little to shout about and the price is rocket sky high. Its part of the reason why clubs prefer buying foreign,Time for the british to consider are they killing their own market and local talent?

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  31. Kelly and wisdom have good potential but so far they still lack skill and technical ability for a attacking right back,Flanagan is not good enough for liverpool to be honest,Maclauglin is still learning the trade but shown good potential,so that leave us with only johnson for the right spot.If we can have a right back like montoya for this coming season then i'm very confidence we will pose a threat to any PL teams let alone qualify for the CL and sitting at the top.

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  32. There are no facts like that in football, you know that!

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  33. no i don't.



    [You should reply: "i admire a men with confidence"]

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