The Union (briefly) and Jamiro Monteiro (less briefly)
On August 9th of last year the Philadelphia Union hired Ernst Tanner as their sporting director. Tanner had served as the academy director for Red Bull Salzburg before arriving in Philadelphia, and that experience made casual observers assume that the Union Academy would continue to be a focus and that the team might change to a slightly more aggressive pressing system. For once, the casual observers were right.
The first big splash Tanner made was when he traded all of the Union’s SuperDraft picks to FC Cincinnati for $150,000 in General Allocation Money (Could rise to $200,000 if performance incentives are met by the Cincinnati players). While the move won’t have a big impact on the first team in 2019, it does send a message that the Union would prefer to get their academy kids minutes with their USL affiliate instead of bringing in draft picks to compete with them.
Following the draft, the Union started bringing in new faces. Tanner cast a wide net with players coming from Chile, Germany, France, and Austria. Sergio Santos was brought in to compete for minutes at Striker, Kai Wagner was plucked from the 3. Liga and has been an impact starter at left back, Marco Fabian was made the highest paid player in Union history, and near the deadline of the winter window Jamiro Monteiro was brought in on loan from FC Metz.
Monteiro didn’t appear for the Union until their March 30th game against FC Cincinnati, and it took him a couple games to break into the starting lineup. Since entering the lineup, Monteiro has been my favorite player in MLS to watch. He was brought in to be a shuttler opposite Alejandro Bedoya in the Union’s 442 diamond setup, but Marco Fabian’s struggles with injuries have forced him to spend a lot of time at the tip of the diamond. His .50 xG+A per 90 minutes puts him comfortably among the better attacking midfielders in MLS. However, it’s easy to see the traits that would allow him to excel in a deeper role once Fabian is healthy and fully integrated into the squad.
He’s an active defender in the midfield. This hasn’t resulted in a ton of defensive actions, but in the clip above his pressure forces two players into bad touches which allows him to recover the ball, get his head up, and find Kacper Przybylko with a through-ball for an assist. He repeatedly pops up as the guy creating a turnover in the midfield through quick pressure resulting in an interception or tackle opportunity for a teammate.
Monteiro’s a confident dribbler, who has displayed an ability to retain possession or draw a foul even when faced with multiple defenders. This sometimes gets him into trouble, as he might be a little too willing to take on multiple defenders, but generally he’s taking risks higher up the field where a turnover is less costly.
He constantly makes himself available for passes in the midfield, and usually follows up each pass with a progressive run. His passing isn’t as tidy as Darlington Nagbe’s, but what he lacks in accuracy he makes up for in creativity.
Monteiro’s final ball doesn’t always come off. Ball security is absolutely the area of his game that’s the most worrying. That being said, it might not be prudent to sacrifice any of his outstanding ball progression in the name of ball security. It’s encouraging that he’s always looking for the killer ball or trying to spring a counter by beating two guys off the dribble. He doesn’t settle for the easiest action available, and instead tries to make the most threatening action.
The Union have an incredibly solid midfield (A healthy Marco Fabian could force one of Brenden Aaronson or Alejandro Bedyoa to the bench) that’s powered them to the top of the Eastern Conference. Philadelphia has the third highest xG/game in MLS behind only LAFC and Chicago and they’ve been more than competent on the defensive end as well, limiting opponents to 1.22 xG/game. Between the addition of Andrew Wooten and Marco Fabian returning to health, Philadelphia are quickly looking less like plucky upstarts and more like legitimate contenders in the Eastern Conference.
The Union have extended Monteiro’s loan until the end of the season, and shown an interest in making his move permanent. It’s hard to believe that FC Metz would sell him for much less than $3 million they paid for him less than a year ago. At that price tag, Monteiro’s salary would likely push him over the Designated Player threshold (the MLSPA have his total compensation at $569,200).
Philadelphia have not previously shown a willingness to carry 3 Designated Players, and signing Monteiro as their third DP would make them the first team I can remember to have 3 DPs all in central midfield. Monteiro’s play this season has certainly warranted a DP deal, and at 25 years old he could be an integral part of the midfield for the foreseeable future.
Data from American Soccer Analysis
