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Montero also played out of position, with Dos Santos deeming his play as a pure No. 9 incompatible with his system. He’s under contract, but if he can’t adapt his game — he still sees himself as a pure striker — the DP forward could be traded away.

“Where’s his best spot right now? That’s a lot of the conversations I’ve had with him,” said Dos Santos.

“In my way of playing right now, where I want to bring the club, (for him) to be a No. 9 is going to be very difficult. I want that No. 9 to be very intense in his pressure,” he added, citing San Jose’s Chris Wondolowski and Columbus’s Gyasi Zardes as the desired profile.

“Depending on the midfielders we get, can Fredy convert maybe to a second forward, as a false No. 10? That’s how I felt the season went for Fredy. Unfortunately, Fredy has the characteristics right now to play in a team that is very dominant, that he’s very close to the 18-yard box all the time, and right now, that’s not who we are.”

There’s also history working against him. In the team’s past four seasons, the leading scorer has been traded or not had his option picked up — including Montero himself in 2017, when his purchase option from loan was deemed too rich. (Octavio Rivero, 2015; Pedro Morales, 2016; Kei Kamara, 2018).

ZAC MACMATH, GK

MacMath lost out to Crepeau for the No. 1 spot in training camp. He’s still a capable goalie, but the question is whether the Caps want to tie up $190K in a backup.

But he didn’t come here to be a backup — he had enough of that after being displaced first by Tim Howard in Colorado, and Andre Blake before that in Philly. So while he’s under contract for 2020, he could seek that role elsewhere.