West Ham are planning to make a move for Gonzalo Montiel in the summer, according to Argentinian outlet TNT Sports.
The 23-year-old Argentina international currently plays for River Plate as a right-back and has played 18 times this season contributing to 2 assists, via Transfermarkt. Before January, this would have been seen as a good transfer for West Ham, with Pablo Zabaleta now being 35 years old, with Ryan Fredericks the only other real option.
However, in the last month, David Moyes has played highly-rated academy prospect Jeremy Ngakia at right-back and he has received plaudits from the Hammers support.
Indeed, Ngakia’s performance saw him raved about by journalists such as Sam Inkersole on Football.London, while his performance against Southampton saw him make the second-highest number of clearances (8, per WhoScored), so he’s clearly adapting to life in the first-team well.
Ultimately, if Ngakia continues to impress for the last ten games of the season, then there would not be any particular reason to spend the money on a right-back when they could spend in a position which is weaker, given Fredericks can compete with him for a starting role going forward.
How impressed have you been with Ngakia? Join the discussion by commenting below…
