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Cristian Montano is one of the hottest prospects to emerge at the Boleyn Ground in recent times. The 19-year-old striker is ticking all the boxes and looks like he really could be something for the future.

He completed a loan stint at Notts County earlier in the season scoring four goals in 11 appearances (only four of those being starts). County boss and former Irons man Martin Allen raved about him during his time in Nottingham.

Montano returned to Chadwell Heath before going out on loan again to League Two side Swindon Town, where he linked up with another on-loan Hammer Ahmed Abdulla working under Hammers great Di Canio.

Speaking to whufc.com recently, Montano said: "I'm very happy with what I've achieved so far and obviously want to continue and get more first-team games. It's first-team football that I want to be playing now because I've tasted it. It's what I want to be doing and I want to carry on doing.

"The loan at County is probably the best thing I've done in football. I made my debut, played first-team football and scored some goals in League One, which is obviously a good standard of football and only one division below West Ham."

So why, when the young star was playing so well, did he change clubs? He returned to us for a matter of days before going off to Swindon (from where he has since returned). I think it was most likely the lure of Di Canio that brought Montano to Swindon. He himself admitted that he is a big admirer of the Italian.

Di Canio gave West Ham such good service that I believe we would be happy to send out our young talent to play for him and, more importantly, learn from the legend.

Di Canio holds a high profile in the world of football due to his level of ability and his no-nonsense style. The Italian great is currently doing Swindon a good service, they are sixth in the league and only three points below Cheltenham in third place.

It is understandable why Allardyce would want his young players learning from someone with not only the ability to play the game to a high standard, but also an in-depth knowledge of the game. Cristian Montano is destined for greatness. The young attacker is receiving rave reviews wherever he is playing, he holds a lot of promise for the future of West Ham.

When injuryies started taking their toll on Big Sam’s side he admitted himself that he was thinking about bringing Montano back and considering giving him some playing time.

After the recent home game against Leicester I stayed behind to ask Allardyce some questions about the young Colombian. He stated that Montano is one of the brightest prospects at the Boleyn Ground at the moment along with George Moncur and Oliver Lee.

I also asked Allardyce why he chose to end Montano’s spell at Notts County and send him to Swindon. "Cristian is a very bright prospect for me," he said, "and although he was playing outstandingly at Notts I felt that he needed a change."

It is always good for the players to experience different grounds and different atmouspheres as it helps a youngster get a feel for the game and what fans think. I also thought that sending Cristian to Swindon would be a good opportunity to learn from a former West Ham great and also a fellow attacker.

Although Cristian ultimately failed to impress at the County Ground it seems Allardyce wants his players to pick up knowledge of playing under different managers with different tactics, as that will help them become adaptable to future plans.

Montano is a really exciting prospect at the moment and who knows, maybe one day his name will be up in lights at the Boleyn.

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