Aston Villa are reportedly interested in Sevilla right-back Gonzalo Montiel, but face competition for his signature from Fulham.
The 26-year-old joined the Spanish side from River Plate in August 2021, and has since gone on to make 72 appearances for the club to follow on from a successful spell in his homeland.
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Montiel was also a key member of the Argentina squad that won the World Cup last year, and he has 23 caps in total to his name as he has gained valuable experience and pedigree at the top level.
According to Argentine journalist Gaston Edul, Villa are keen on the defensive ace, but Fulham are said to have a stronger interest at this stage. It’s added that Sevilla won’t entertain a loan exit, and so negotiations will have to be over a permanent move this summer.
Following the departure of Ashley Young coupled with the injury sustained by Tyrone Mings last weekend, Unai Emery has seen his defensive options become a little more limited despite the arrival of Pau Torres.
Matty Cash continues to be the preferred option at right-back for the most part, while Ezri Konsa is capable of shifting across too when Emery deems it appropriate. The Villa boss also has Calum Chambers in reserve as well who has shown he can play that position.
Nevertheless, in a season in which we hope to play in excess of 50 games if we progress in cup competitions and in Europe, we could arguably do with more competition and depth at the back, with the Mings setback a huge blow and raising question marks over whether or not we do indeed have enough.
Bringing in another right-back, be it Montiel or another target, would perhaps allow Konsa to remain in the heart of the backline, where he can build a strong partnership with either Torres or Diego Carlos to give us a settled centre-half pairing to establish a strong foundation.
Speculation has also linked us with a reshuffle at left-back in the latter stages of the window, with Fabrizio Romano suggesting that Lucas Digne could leave and Marcos Acuna could arrive to replace him.
In turn, it could yet be a very busy end to the transfer market for Villa, with Emery continuing to mould the squad into his own and bring in tactical solutions that he feels he needs for us to be successful this year and beyond.