There was a time in the last summer when it really seemed like Gonzalo Montiel could be on his way to West Ham United.
Offers and attempts to get a work permit were reported by the Argentine press, but the move never happened.
Things went quiet for a while, and now that there’re only six months left in his contract with River Plate, the rumours of a departure are back to the headlines.
Outlet AS features a story today saying the Buenos Aires side are expecting bids for the fullback.
It’s claimed that the player made a promise that he wouldn’t sign a pre-contract with other club, and would favour a transfer where the Millonario can make some money. That’s why they’d even like to renew his deal before the offers come.
The report says many foreign clubs have been chasing Montiel, and the list this time includes Villareal, West Ham, Roma and Lyon.
AS claims that the biggest difficulty for a deal is that River Plate have been demanding €9m for the move. So even though all these clubs ‘asked’ about Montiel, none were convinced of putting that much money on the table so far.
Back in the summer, it was claimed West Ham offered €7.5m for the player, although River Plate were said to be demanding €20m at the time.
Now with six months to the end of his contract, that’s a different scenario, and it’s made clear ‘the next few days will be key’ when it comes to the right-back’s future.
