River Plate manager Marcelo Gallardo has claimed it would be ‘ridiculous’ for them to accept a bid for Gonzalo Montiel amid West Ham’s interest in the player.
Yesterday we brought you a report from TyC Sports that West Ham had seen a bid for the right-back rejected outright by the Argentinian club.
According to the report, the Hammers had proposed a loan deal until the end of the season, which they would pay €500,000 for, and wanted to include a purchase option for €10m as well.
This was rejected by River, who have ‘flatly refused’ to even enter negotiations with West Ham about a transfer.
Montiel is considered one of the key players in Gallardo’s team, having made 90 appearances since his debut in 2016, and TyC’s stance was that he would not be leaving regardless of the interest from the Hammers.
Gallardo added to that, stating it would be ridiculous for his team to sanction any deal this month.
“I think there are interests of clubs in the world for River players and not all of them are, from the economic point of view, realistic,” TNT Sports report him saying in a press conference.
“We have a heritage that we try to defend. No matter where you come from, if you have a real interest, you are going to be having to make a proposal that at least we evaluate in a positive way.
“Now if you come with a loan to find a valuable player of ours, I say ‘thank you, but no’. It is not what we want.
“And less in full competition. It would be ridiculous for us to accept, not even to start a conversation when you come with such a proposal.
“And Quintero is the same if a proposal comes. One thing is interest and another thing is reality.”
