South Wales Evening Post understands that pacey winger Jefferson Montero will not be leaving the club on loan. Championship title challengers Middlesbrough were said to be preparing a move for the Ecuadorian international.
Despite slipping down the pecking order at the Liberty Stadium under new head coach Francesco Guidolin, the Welsh club aren’t prepared to let players leave in the midst of a relegation battle.
The 26-year-old hasn’t appeared for the Swans since the shock FA Cup defeat to League Two side Oxford United in January. The change of manager has also led to a change of system, with Guidolin sometimes preferring a midfield diamond at present. They switched back to playing with out-and-out wingers against Southampton, but Wayne Routledge and Andre Ayew got the nod.
Still, Montero seems to be part of Guidolin’s plans, at least as back-up for now. Boro boss Aitor Karanka has utilised the loan market to good effect this season so far and is clearly keen to use it once more, if the right player is available. Most recently, Karanka has added Richie De Laet and Gaston Ramirez on loan.
Boro already have five loan players at the club already however. In addition to De Laet and Ramirez, there is also Kike Sola, Tomas Kalas and Michael Agazzi already with the Teesside club. Only five loan players can appear in any one matchday squad. Should Montero have signed, then perhaps sub keeper Agazzi and Sola would drop out, with the others enjoying more football of late. However Karanka wouldn’t be totally unhappy if he didn’t utilise the loan market anymore as he does have a very healthy squad already.
