West Ham United and Atlético Madrid would provide Aston Villa with competition in the race to sign River Plate goalkeeper Santiago Beltrán in the winter market.
Aston Villa have been pursuing the 22-year-old for a while. His rise at the Argentina club has seen other European clubs take notice.
West Ham and Atlético are also pursuing the player, and both could challenge the Premier League side.
West Ham in picture for Beltrán
Earlier this year, the stopper made his way into River Plate’s first team and has regularly starred for them. He’s kept 19 clean sheets and conceded 36 goals from 45 matches.
His fine displays have convinced Lionel Scaloni to hand him his senior Argentina debut in June. Santiago Beltrán has caught the attention of European clubs, including Unai Emery’s side, West Ham United and Atlético Madrid.
Last week, Sport Witness covered a report from Argentina explaining that Aston Villa are preparing a formal offer for a January move.
TyC Sports makes no mention of the Villans and focuses mainly on West Ham and the La Liga side.
West Ham and Atlético to fight for signing
Santiago Beltrán’s rapid rise at River Plate and his senior debut for Argentina have led to strong interest from other clubs.
TyC Sports states both the Championship side and Los Rojiblancos are showing interest in the stopper. These two clubs are likely to battle it out for his signature in the winter market.
His contract expires in December 2027 and could leave in January. Therefore, the South American club are already looking at options to replace him and have identified Al-Hilal’s Yassine Bounou as a target
River Plate’s desire is to extend his contract until December 2030 and include a $100m [€89.5m]. Without a renewal, they would have to consider parting ways with their new star.
The Argentine club will only start negotiations if there’s a bid of over $15m [€13.4m] for Beltrán. The price may not be an issue for West Ham United, who would have to convince the South American to snub other clubs to play for them in the Championship.
