West Ham's Enner Valencia outshining Swansea's Jefferson Montero but Ecuador team-mate could still change that

Inspiration or perspiration. Every professional athlete needs both, but the balance between the two can differ. When West Ham host Swansea on Super Sunday, the importance of those qualities will be embodied in two very different characters with a shared past.

Enner Valencia and Jefferson Montero have plenty in common. Ecuador internationals who arrived in the Premier League from Mexican clubs in the summer, they were born just a couple of months apart and even both started out at the same side, Emelec. But it’s not all about their similarities.

Montero, for example, was a teenage prodigy in his homeland. Having starred in Ecuador’s gold-medal-winning team at the 2007 Pan American Games, he left Emelec the following year and was in Europe with Villarreal by 2009. He scored his first international goal for the senior side that year.

Valencia, the guy born in the port town of San Lorenzo who had to milk cows on his father’s farm to afford his first pair of football boots, only arrived at Emelec in the year Montero departed. He had to wait until 2010 for his chance in the first team.

The young forward’s development was perhaps hindered in those early years as he was played on the right wing rather than the central position in which he’s since prospered. It was only when he went to Mexico to play for Pachuca that he got his chance in attack and the progress was swift.

Top scorer in the 2014 Clausura in Mexico, Valencia followed up with a goal against England in the build-up to the World Cup and three more in the tournament itself. His Premier League move has been similarly seamless with his powerful effort against Hull soon winning over supporters.

Hammers boss Sam Allardyce has praised the work rate of Valencia and, together with Diafra Sakho, his hard-running style has transformed the team. “Last year they lacked firepower in front of goal,” said Sky Sports pundit Gary Neville. “But this season they look completely different.”

Valencia defending from the front and pinning opponents back with his pace – relentless in its nature - has been a huge factor in West Ham’s encouraging form. He produced 70 high-intensity sprints against QPR and Stoke, one of only seven strikers to do that more than once this season.

Montero has speed of his own but having arrived at Swansea for a more modest fee he is now the one who has had to be patient in waiting  for his opportunity. Despite setting up a goal against Manchester United on his debut, his first Premier League start did not come until late October.

As soon as the game started I felt for Calum Chambers. He’s played right-back a lot but you could see early on Montero had him.

It was in his second Premier League start at the Liberty Stadium that we really saw the qualities that can hurt teams. The occasionally selfish but always silky winger is capable of causing all sorts of problems on the left wing – as proved the case for Arsenal’s young hope Calum Chambers.

“Montero was brilliant,” Jamie Carragher told Sky Sports after seeing Swansea beat the Gunners in November. “As soon as the game started I felt for Calum Chambers. He’s played right-back a lot but you could see early on Montero had him. I’ve found myself in that position against a right-footer.

“You don’t want him to come inside on his right foot so you give him an extra half yard on the outside, because you’re worried about him coming inside. But every time he does that Montero is too quick for him and leaves him for dead around the outside.”

Hit and miss

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At his best he can be impossible to deal with, but Montero remains hit and miss – something his old national team boss Reinaldo Rueda became accustomed to. “Does he want to play for Ecuador, or for Jefferson Montero? This question is still not easy for him,” said Rueda earlier this year.

Watching him tormenting a full-back is a joy and there are few better at it, as shown by the stats. Not even Eden Hazard can boast as many successful dribbles per minute as Montero. But the tally of no goals and two assists are likely to be the statistics that Swans boss Garry Monk dwells on.

The mercurial Montero or the unstinting effort of his compatriot at West Ham? “The Ecuadorian that is making a difference in the Premier League is Enner Valencia,” claimed Ecuadorian TV channel Claro Sports recently. Montero has the quality to change that on Sunday.

Watch West Ham v Swansea this Sunday on Sky Sports 1 HD from 12.30pm