The agent of River Plate defender Gonzalo Montiel, Marcelo Carracedo, has admitted he doesn’t see his client moving to West Ham this summer.
The young right-back, who has impressed again for River this season and is widely regarded as one of Argentina’s best up and coming youngsters, has long been linked with a move to West Ham after their interest in January.
That Hammers attempted to sign him in the January transfer window, with David Moyes looking for a long-term successor to Pablo Zabaleta.
Their attempts to sign him on loan with a purchase clause were quickly dismissed by River, though, who had no intention of selling at that point in the season.
The interest in Montiel has not gone away since then, with it widely felt that West Ham would come calling again come the summer.
Indeed, his agent has ramped up interest for several months by publicly speculating that his client could be available on the cheap as a result of the strain the Coronavirus outbreak has had on River’s finances.
He has namechecked West Ham on more than one occasion but now says he can’t see a bid coming from them, or anyone else in the Premier League.
“I think it is time to go to Europe, Gonzalo is mature as a player and is ready to make the jump,” he told Radio del Plata, relayed by El Desmarque.
“In any case, it depends on the situation of the pandemic, the markets and the economy of the clubs.
“There are many teams interested in Gonzalo, some of them are Valencia, Roma and Torino.
“He is in the folder, and they have been following him, but it is difficult to say how it will end up decanting all this.
“There are many concerns for Gonzalo and many clubs interested in him, although I do not think that an offer will come from West Ham.
“The Premier League hasn’t started up again, and I suppose their priority is to stay in the first division, but maybe next year they will come back for him.”
