Sevilla could be set to miss out on a much-needed injection of €11m from Nottingham Forest, with Gonzalo Montiel’s injury issues set to rob them of a transfer fee for the player.
That’s according to Estadio Deportivo, who report that Nottingham Forest may be set to avoid an obligation to buy the defender thanks to injuries keeping him out of action.
The newspaper explains that Montiel’s current loan deal with Nottingham Forest includes an €11m obligation for them to buy him but only if a set of conditions were met.
One of those was featuring in a certain number of matches, at least half of Nottingham Forest’s in the entire campaign, but that number is becoming increasingly difficult for him to hit.
Nottingham Forest are yet to announce how long they expect him to be out for, but it means that there is a ‘race against the clock’ as far as Sevilla are concerned.
They had considered the clause feasible when they signed off on it, but the reality now is that Montiel has only played in 14 games, missing 17, and will need to play in 72% of Forest’s remaining fixtures in the Premier League, the only competition they are now in.
That means he has to feature in eight of their 11 remaining games in the league for the clause to be turned into an obligation, something which doesn’t seem likely given his injury record so far.
That’s extremely bad news for Sevilla, who are facing a summer of extreme cost cutting to make their budget balance out and would have welcomed €11m for a player they don’t want with open arms.
Of course, there’s every chance Montiel may manage to feature enough to activate the clause but at the minute it doesn’t seem likely, and his latest injury can be deemed ‘untimely’ for the Spanish side’s hopes of making money.
