What does Jefferson Montero’s future hold?
Swansea City winger Jefferson Montero has returned to training this week, giving Paul Clement another possible option on the wing.
Although, after an inconsistent two-and-a-half seasons at the Liberty Stadium, the question is can Montero be called upon during the Swans’ fight to avoid Premier League relegation?
It’s been evident this season that the Ecuadorian hasn’t got a great attitude when the going gets tough (referencing his pretty appalling antics from December’s 3-1 loss to West Brom, where he literally did not bother running for 90 minutes!).
And what has changed since Clement has joined the club, is the players’ attitudes. The Swans are now running, grafting, putting their bodies on the line, committing and it’s astounding in contrast to the displays during Bob Bradley’s reign.
A lot of the players have had the chance to improve and to change their ways under Clement, however that can’t be said of Montero because of the injury he acquired on Boxing Day against West Ham.
The speedster has yet to feature for Clement and only now is the new manager getting his first glimpses of him on the training pitch.
Many players have had the opportunity to prove themselves under Clement, take for instance the vastly improved Federico Fernandez or the likes of Jack Cork and Leroy Fer who look like completely different players.
It’s now for Jeff to pull his socks up, start grafting and pushing to get into the starting XI again. Will, or can he do that is the million dollar question, though.
Twitter: Jefferson Montero has returned to training this week. Can he get back in the team? Or do you see him remaining a bi… https://t.co/bqIO4nFIfT (@ReadSwansea)
Twitter: RT @rhavfc: @ReadSwansea hopefully clement will get the best out of him, on his day he’s unplayable (@ReadSwansea)
Okay, in fairness, he’s had a career plagued with injuries which has prevented him getting a consistent run of games together. Montero’s only started two games this campaign, making a further nine substitute appearances in the process. In those games, he’s made just one assist from the wing, which isn’t an ideal statistic.
For a couple of seasons now, the 27-year-old has had stop-start intervals in a Swans shirt, which is quite frustrating because there is a very good player there. On his day, Montero is unstoppable and has torchered many a full-back in the past.
He just simply can’t do it enough and on a regular basis. And the disappointing thing is; I can’t really see anything changing, either. I don’t think he’s got the mental toughness to overcome setbacks an then go and improve. And therefore I don’t think he’s got the right attitude to be a player that can be truly relied upon, especially during difficult periods, like when Swansea are struggling in the league.
I’d love for him to prove me wrong, of course. I hope to god that those words come back to bite me!
Looking ahead to the remainder of the season, it’s hard to see Jeff starting many games, especially with Gylfi Sigurdsson’s new role on the left side of midfield. Once fully fit, I think Montero’s only going to be used as an impact sub, which is where he can actually be very effective.
And looking ahead to the summer, if Montero doesn’t pull his weight in the white shirt, I don’t think Clement is a man to put up with any nonsense from him. He’ll be on the first plane out of South Wales as soon as the window opens, and I wouldn’t have too much objections either if that was the case and his attitude remained poor.
I’m going to give the Ecuador international a chance to turn things around first though, and like I said earlier, I’d love for him to prove me wrong. Ki Sung-Yueng’s attitude was woeful at times in the October/November period, as he wouldn’t even bother sticking a challenge in, but even he’s improved under Clement and has stepped up to the mark. However, as one of the club’s highest earners, making about five starts a season is disappointing and we need to see more fight from Jeff now he’s come back from injury again.
On the whole, I don’t see Montero at Swansea too much longer if he doesn’t improve, with Gylfi Sigurdsson, Luciano Narsingh, Jordan Ayew and Wayne Routledge all seemingly ahead of him in the winger rankings. Plus, there’s Nathan Dyer to compete with once he’s back from injury and Modou Barrow who’ll be returning in the summer. There’s also some impressive wide-men coming through the youth academy in Daniel James, Alex Bray and Ryan Hedges, so there’s that as well.
Hopefully Montero can contribute to what I hope will be a Swansea survival in the relegation dog-fight for now, and then it’s really up to himself to decide on what his future holds in SA1. We have to see a new, rejuvenated ‘Baby Jeff’ in the coming months, there’s no two ways about it.
It’s now do or die for Montero’s Swansea career.