VALENCIA WELCOME MONTOYA WITH OPEN ARMS

Spanish club Valencia has welcomed former Barcelona striker Martin Montoya with open arms after his contract was terminated by the La Liga Champions.

The 25 year old came through the famed La Masia academy. He made his first appearance for the club back in 2011, and has gone on to make 66 extra appearances for the senior team but the club deems him surplus to requirement as the new season is set to begin.

Montoya though young has three La Liga medals to his name already and was a part of the team that won the UEFA Champions League in 2015, defeating Italian champions Juventus. He wasn’t part of the team that played on the winning day but no doubt picked up invaluable experiences along the way, prompting the interest in him by Valencia despite losing the attempt to sign him for three million Euros in 2011.

In the past twelve months, he was sent to Inter Milan on a loan deal in the first half before ending the second half at Real Betis. He has been called up to join the Spanish senior team but has not played his full international debut yet. He is the second signing for Valencia this summer after the club acquired Portugal’s Euro 2016 hero and former Manchester United player Nani.

Montoya’s sack is not surprising as Luiz Enrigue and the Barcelona management look at cutting unwanted players loose and rebuilding the defence of the squad. The club has sacked Marc Bartra, Adriano and even Dani Alves, even though Enrique wanted him to remain. The club is still struggling to find the perfect replacement since selling Dani Alves to Juventus. Since joining the club, Alves has won nine European competitions, second to Maldini’s ten. His pace and stamina has been impressive, helping in the attack always but the club is seeking to overhaul the entire defence ahead of the new season.