West Ham Zone View: Club could solve major issue with reported pursuit of 23-year-old
The signing of Ryan Fredericks from Fulham on a free transfer in the summer of 2018 was a nice idea for West Ham United, but it’s not quite worked out.
The key phrase there is ‘not quite’. The Englishman hasn’t been an unmitigated failure at the London Stadium, but he’s struggled to provide consistency at the position.
It’s been some time since the Hammers had a right back they could rely upon and, despite some tantalising flashes of real quality, it doesn’t look like Fredericks is capable of being that.
Pablo Zabaleta, his back-up, certainly isn’t. He’s 35 years of age now and out of contract at the end of the season, so he’s no answer.
It’s no surprise, then, that the club are said to be vigorously chasing River Plate right back Gonzalo Montiel.
El Intransigente reported earlier this week that the Irons were unsuccessful with a move for Montiel last month, but that they haven’t given up in their pursuit of him.
The 23-year-old has a release clause of £16million in his contract with the Argentine giants, while Southampton are interested in him as well.
It appears that the Hammers have identified the same issue as the one listed above. They’re already making moves to try and rectify the problem.
Montiel is a solid right back who has four caps for the Argentine national team. He’s played 14 times for River Plate this season, having made 33 appearances last time out.
You can never guarantee that a player is going to come over to the Premier League from abroad and be a success, but Montiel looks like a pretty safe bet.
Either way, the east London outfit need to find a right back who can hold down the position for years and years to come.
They don’t have that at the moment, but they could do with Montiel. For £16million that seems like a pretty fair deal.
In other West Ham news, a former manager of Jarrod Bowen’s explains why he’ll be a success at the London Stadium.