The Montreal Impact added some offensive reinforcements on Monday, when they announced that they have acquired 21-year-old Argentine attacking midfielder Lucas Ontivero on loan from Turkish club Galatasaray.
Ontivero will join Montreal upon completion of his physical and receipt of his International Transfer Certificate. Per league and club policy, further terms of the deal were not disclosed.
Ontivero signed with Galatasaray in January 2014. He’s been on three different loans since joining the Turkish giants, most recently playing for Olimpija in the Slovenian first division. He had four goals in 11 appearances since joining Olimpija in August.
“After analyzing our roster during the offseason, we felt we needed to add a dynamic attacking midfielder,” Impact technical director Adam Braz said in a statement released by the club. “Lucas first the profile that we were looking for and we are excited to have him join our team from the start of training camp."
“We are pleased to add a creative player, who can play on both wings,” added head coach Mauro Biello. “He has qualities that can help us this season.”
Ontivero, who was loaned by Galatasaray to fellow Turkish club Gaziantepspor and Hungarian team Budapest Honved before joining Olimpija this season, has played a total of five times for Galatasaray. The 5-foot-6 winger began his career in the academy of Argentine side San Lorenzo, then spent three years in Real Madrid’s youth program. He also played in the Tottenham and AC Milan academies before turning pro with Uruguayan club Fénix in 2012.
