Nottingham Forest
Nottingham Forest managers take drastic measures 6euro transfer
Nottingham Forest now look set to make a dramatic U-turn on Gonzalo Montiel. Steve Cooper didn’t fancy the player but Nuno Espirito Santo started him in both wins over Christmas against Newcastle and Manchester United.
The Argentine defender has endured a bit of a frustrating time of things at Forest. He signed from Sevilla in the summer but has found regular game time hard to come by this season with Steve Cooper seemingly fancying other players.
Espirito Santo has given every player a new lease of life at the City Ground. He’s made Montiel his first-choice right-back it would seem and on Saturday he registered an assist for Forest as they beat United 2-1.
Forest now make U-turn on Montiel
The World Cup-winning player had looked set to be changing clubs in January. Under Cooper, Montiel made just four Premier League appearances for Forest and wasn’t even making the matchday squad given that he was way down the pecking order.
Sevilla are desperate to sell Montiel and receive the £8.8 million transfer fee that has been agreed with Forest after the player made so many appearances. Now, it looks as though Espirito Santo wants to keep him, according to Diario AS.
Furthermore, Montiel is now satisfied that he should play more games under the new manager. He had grown disgruntled with his minutes and was keen to leave for a new club in search of regular action.
Montiel can become City Ground favourite
A number of different Forest players have played ahead of Montiel this season. Serge Aurier, Ola Aina and Neco Williams have all been tried at right-back as Cooper tried to find a winning formula.
However, in the mind of Espirito Santo, there is only one man for the job on the right-hand side of the defence and it’s Montiel.
Forest landed Montiel on a season-long deal from Sevilla. The permanent clause included after so many games made it seem quite exciting given that he’s scored winning penalties in the World Cup and the Europa League during the last 12 months.
Forest have made a great start under Espirito Santo and it now appears that Montiel is going to be integral to the team’s fortunes this season.