The Newcastle Jets have moved to replace departed forward Adam Taggart by bringing in Edson Montano from Ecuadorian side Barcelona SC.
The Newcastle Jets have moved to replace departed forward Adam Taggart by bringing in Edson Montano from Ecuadorian side Barcelona SC.
The 23-year-old, a four-cap Ecuador international, will spend the 2014-15 campaign on loan at the Hunter Stadium outfit.
The Jets lost Taggart, last season’s A-League golden boot winner, to English Championship club Fulham this week, but hope to have found a player capable of shouldering at least some of the goal-scoring burden in his absence.
“I am really excited to join the Newcastle Jets and experience a new journey in my football career,” Montano said in a statement.
“I’m looking forward to being part of a growing competition like the A-League and experiencing the football and culture of Australia.
“Most importantly, I hope to score goals and help bring the Newcastle Jets and its members success on the field.”
New Jets coach Phil Stubbins hopes the club will get the best out of Montano, who has scored nine goals in 45 Ecuadorian Serie A appearances for Barcelona and El Nacional, while helping him to develop as a player.
“Edson certainly brings the physical attributes that you need and he-s a very quick and powerful athlete,” he said in a statement.
“He’s got good technique, he knows where the back of the net is and I think at his age, he could develop into a very strong player.
“We’ve got him at the right time, at a good stage in his career and we’re hoping the A-League will allow him to push on and help cement himself as a high quality senior footballer.”
The Hunter Stadium side, who finished seventh last term, have also brought in experienced pair Marcos Flores and Adrian Madaschi, as well as youngster Josh Barresi, ahead of the new campaign.
