There are often transfers in world football that surprise or shock even the most experienced of football professionals. Sometimes due to the size of the fee or because a player may be returning to a team he previously played for.
Eyebrows were raised when Fredy Montero joined Seattle Sounders in January 2009 in time for the start of the MLS season. Montero is a striker who has been known for some time and has seemingly excelled at every opportunity and it wasn’t as if he lacked offers from Europe.
Credit must go to the improving MLS and Fredy Montero has subsequently lived up to his reputation and set Major League Soccer on fire so far this season. Montero can play as a withdrawn striker or in tandem up top and has shown speed and technical ability to make space and score goals. He had a trial at Real Betis before signing with Seattle and might be off to Europe after the season.
In just 15 games for Seattle, Monetero has scored nine goals and provided six assists in 1,232 minutes of football. He was voted MLS Player of the Month for March and along with fellow South American Guillermo Barros Schelotto is threatening to be the standout player of the 2009 campaign.
Montero grew up in Campo de la Cruz, Colombia and has represented them at full international level including in 2010 World Cup qualifiers. He has a total of three caps, scoring once.
The 5.8ft forward has good speed and has shown that although he is not a big, strong player, he has vision, a strong motor and a powerful shot that makes him very dangerous in the attacking third. Montero is an all-round striker who has scored goals from inside the box as well as outside.
Scouts in American claim Montero still has to show that he can deal with all the physical play, but he is smart enough to find room to score goals and quick enough to be able to do it with one chance.
Montero has been one of the stand-out players for Seattle in their debut season in the MLS and the league has a major job on its hands to secure him for next season with countless European teams interested.
Scouts from Colombian club Deportivo Cali signed Montero at the age of 13 after just one trial with the club. He still belongs to Deportivo Cali and is on loan from them at Seattle Sounders.
He played his first professional match in 2005 and has scored 27 times in 56 matches for the club. Montero was loaned out after the 2005 season to Atletico Huila and scored 13 times in 18 matches. He returned to Deportivo Cali last season and scored 16 times.
Montero was twice the winner of the Colombian Golden Boot in 2007 and 2008 and won his first cap for Colombia in 2007. Whilst at Atletico Hulia he also led the club to their best ever finish, coming second in the 2007 Copa Mustang.
Off the pitch Montero was accused in April of sexual assault. The charges were later dropped due to insufficient evidence but it will have taught the Colombian international the dangers that lie off the field for stars of the professional game.
Clubs looking to buy Montero should also be aware that there are suggestions that Montero is owned by a third-party which could signal the same problems that has dogged Carlos Tevez in England.
Montero made a surprise career decision to go to the MLS and if anything he has proved his natural ability yet again and thanks to his goal scoring exploits and fine performances a move to Europe is now almost assured.