Nottingham Forest close to signing Argentine World Cup hero

After a large amount of spending over the course of a year, Nottingham Forest are still in search of new additions to their squad. After surviving relegation from the Premier League last season, Forest looks to push onward up the table under Steve Cooper. As The Top Flight had covered, Forest was interested in signing Arsenal’s Nuno Tavares, but a deal for the defender now looks to be off. New reports suggest the club has begun to look abroad in trying to add fullback depth.

Nottingham Forest is close to an agreement on personal terms with Gonzalo Montiel

Fabrizio Romano is reporting that Nottingham Forest is on the brink of signing Sevilla’s Gonzalo Montiel for a fee of around £9.4 million. Additionally, personal terms between Forest and the player are deemed to be close by Romano, and Montiel already has a medical booked for the transfer. Montiel will be Forest’s fifth summer signing.

Before his move to Sevilla in 2021, Montiel was a one-club man, having only ever played for Argentine side River Plate before the transfer overseas. Montiel established himself as a regular contributor for Sevilla last season en route to the club winning Europa League in 2023. Montiel scored the winning penalty in the penalty shootout in the Europa League final against AS Roma. Funny enough, that is not Montiel’s biggest penalty of his career. In what has made him a legend in Argentinian football folklore, Montiel scored the winning penalty for Argentina in the 2023 World Cup final over France.

For Nottingham Forest, Montiel can provide additional right-back depth, with Serge Aurier currently the preferred starter on the right flank. If Forest had signed Tavares, it would’ve allowed Neco Williams to shift back over from the left to the right, but as of now, the Welshman will continue to share the left flank with Ola Aina.