UPDATE 1:02 p.m. — The move is now official. Montano will be gone for the rest of the season.
I am not Facebook friends with Miguel Montano, but those who are recently noticed the Sounders FC midfielder announced he’s off to play with the Montreal Impact.
I’ve learned that is the case and the 20-year-old will join the NASL team on loan.
Montano was not at practice Monday, which would indicate that an official announcement should be coming sooner rather than later.
This could be a great move for the youngster, who has struggled to get playing time with the Sounders, even with the reserves. No word yet on how long the loan agreement is for.
Here is some reaction from coach Sigi Schmid:
* * *
(On the decision to loan out Montano…) “Right now I wasn’t seeing playing time for him here. He’s a young player and everyone deals with confidence a little bit differently. For him as a young player, I think he needed to find his confidence and needed to go someplace where he was going to get an opportunity to play more regularly. I didn’t think we had enough reserve games coming up. I didn’t see him playing in these games. It’s just (a chance) for him to be able to get some confidence and find his consistency.”
(Can he come back after Montreal’s season ends or is he gone for the year?) “I think it’s like a rest-of-the-year type of thing. I think they’ve got seven or eight games left and hopefully he’ll get some good playing time in there. For him, the earliest he’d be back with us would be the following season I believe because it’s an international transfer.”