A certain Colombian forward’s return to Priestfield on loan might be just what Mark Bonner needs to get things really exciting.
Following a disappointing 2023–24 campaign, Gillingham is hoping to return to winning ways at Priestfield as new manager Mark Bonner looks to bolster the team with important acquisitions in an effort to create a team that can win promotion.
And the team could do far worse than bringing back a player whose few outings in a Gills shirt during the previous season provided the supporters with some of the most thrilling moments of the campaign if they wished to rekindle the feel-good factor that propelled the team to a solid start to the previous campaign.
The fans’ most frequent response when Colombian forward Jorge Cabezas Hurtado was revealed as a loan signing for the team on February 1 was, “Jorge who?” However, the 20-year-old Watford loanee accomplished something that not many Gills players have done in recent memory: he moved the audience out of their seats.
Hurtado may have only played three substitute games for the Gills before sustaining a knee injury that ended his season, but in the 76 minutes that he was wearing a Gills shirt, he possibly accomplished more to thrill the supporters than all of the team’s forwards combined.
The cause? His vigour. Hurtado’s fast pace, direct running, and flashy flair won him over the Gillingham supporters almost away. His greatest, and regrettably final, game in a Gills uniform last season, came in a 45-minute performance during his third appearance for the Gills in a 2-2 tie with Swindon Town.
Strangely, Hurtado’s finest moment came just after he was hurt. He received the ball in the middle third, raced past the Swindon defence, and was mercilessly brought down inside the penalty area. Hurtado’s run brought back thoughts of Colombian icon Faustino Asprilla, and, like “Tino” frequently did for teams like Parma and Newcastle United, it had the supporters standing ovating.
