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The Subtext to West Ham’s “New” Right-Back Signing

By Adam Smith

BUENOS AIRES, ARGENTINA - FEBRUARY 29: Gonzalo Montiel of River Plate kicks the ball during a match between River Plate and Defensa y Justicia as part of Superliga 2019/20 at Antonio Vespucio Liberti Stadium on February 29, 2020 in Buenos Aires, Argentina. (Photo by Marcelo Endelli/Getty Images)
BUENOS AIRES, ARGENTINA - FEBRUARY 29: Gonzalo Montiel of River Plate kicks the ball during a match between River Plate and Defensa y Justicia as part of Superliga 2019/20 at Antonio Vespucio Liberti Stadium on February 29, 2020 in Buenos Aires, Argentina. (Photo by Marcelo Endelli/Getty Images) /
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With the South American rumour mill working overdrive, West Ham have apparently reached a verbal agreement with a new defender. If it is true, what does it mean for the current squad?

The player linked with a move to West Ham is pal of Manuel Lanzini, right-back Gonzalo Montiel of River Plate. Lanzini, a fellow Argentinian, played on River Plate prior to his time in East London and mentioned Montiel as a player he would like seeing make the switch to England to come play with him at West Ham.

The near-unanimous reaction to this signing has been confusion as David Moyes needs a left-back far more crucially than a right-back. Jeremy Ngakia has quelled the need after oft-injured Ryan Fredericks was surpassed. Even with Pablo Zabaleta retiring, there is depth in the position with Ben Johnson outgrowing the academy.

Realistically, there is no way to know if this link or verbal agreement is legitimate. The world football markets are super quiet, and despite West Ham’s connections with the South American world of football, this could be more paper talk.

More than just paper talk, these links could be real for two very different reasons. The first being a tactical pressure point on Ngakia to sign his offered deal by the board. No-deal means a replacement is needed for him, and Montiel has all the aspects of a Gold and Sullivan deal.

Ideally, the academy of football would like to promote their own homegrown talent, of which Ngakia is. But, with the proposed deal, arguably too small for a regular starter which Ngakia is at this point, adding pressure with a “new signing” could urge him to sign the deal.

Outside of that tactical maneuver, a deal could already be in place for Ryan Fredericks to leave West Ham. In that case, Fredericks would be replaced by Montiel who would battle with Ngakia and Johnson for match time. This isn’t out of the realm of possibility either, as Fredericks has proven unreliable with his injuries issues.

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Either way, there has been no confirmation by any Hammers ITKs, nor any word from the club or reliable news sources. Montiel is young, connected to Lanzini, and a typical signing of the Daves, however, he isn’t British which goes against Moyes’ transfer plans. Stay tuned to see how this signing works out if it does at all.