The feeling that Gonzalo Montiel is playing his last games is unanimous in River. Everyone, from Marcelo Gallardo to the fans, knows that it will be impossible to retain the 24-year-old right-back for much longer due to his high level and the economic crisis that the country in general and Núñez’s team in particular are going through. And in this context, two prestigious Italian media reported this Friday that the Roma has almost closed the defender’s pass in exchange for 7 million euros, a figure that seems lower according to the hierarchy of the soccer player and far from the 20 million dollars stipulated in his termination clause.
Although from River they deny the information that comes from Italy, the fans began to express their anger at the number in which Montiel would leave, a player with a national team present and with a huge future. But it is convenient to clarify some issues in the Montiel case, which could well be negotiating his release because his contract expires in July of this year.
The millionaire leaders took too long to renew Montiel (2 goals in 118 games) and only He will not go free because of the unconditional love he professes for the club he has been in since he was 11 years old. From his surroundings they assure that he will sign a symbolic new contract until December 2022 and that his representative, Pablo Sabbag, already has a couple of concrete offers from European casts. From the range of possibilities, River must choose the best. But in no case can it be denied due to a matter of good faith. Something like “I’m not going free, but accept some of the offers”.
Montiel celebrates a goal with Borré in Montevideo. (AFP)
As reported Clarion, Roma’s interest in Montiel appears after the arrival at the club in the Italian capital of Tiago Pinto, the new general manager, who was announced in November but will officially begin to exercise this Friday with the arrival of 2021. At the same time, Coach Paulo Fonseca welcomes the arrival of a player with this projection for the right defense sector.
Another determining factor is that the side does not have a community passport and that is usually a complication when making the leap to Europe. Regardless, that didn’t stop teams like Bologna, Torino, Betis, Valencia, Bayer Leverkusen and Schalke 04 from asking about him. Even England’s West Ham made a loan offer for 6 months plus a purchase obligation last semester.
“An important offer from France could arrive in the next few hours”, they trust from the player’s environment. The team would be Olympique de Lyon, to whom River already sold Emanuel Mammana for 8 million euros, in 2016.
The departure of Montiel, needless to say, will pose a problem for Gallardo because he does not have a level replacement. Neither the Paraguayan Jorge Moreira nor the youthful Elías López are to the liking of the Doll, who eventually decided to rush Milton Casco to the right side.
Will Montiel follow in the footsteps of Juan Fernando Quintero, Ignacio Scocco, Lucas Martínez Quarta and Lucas Pratto? Everything indicates that it is.
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