NOTTINGHAM FOREST have agreed a £9.5million deal with Sevilla to sign Argentina’s World Cup winning penalty shoot-out hero Gonzalo Montiel.
The 26-year-old right-back was booked in for a Forest medical on Monday night and could soon be joined by his Argentina teammate Nicolas Dominguez, as Steve Cooper is also keen to add the Bologna midfielder to his squad.
Montiel became a legend in his homeland when he scored the decisive penalty in last year’s World Cup final as Argentina held their nerve to beat France on penalties after an epic final in Qatar.
Steve Cooper should have no problem trusting his new arrival from the penalty spot as Montiel also scored the decisive penalty when Sevilla beat Roma in another penalty shoot-out to win last season’s Europa League final.
Montiel proved he hasn’t lost his touch, despite falling out of favour at Sevilla, when he held his nerve to score from the spot again during Sevilla’s Uefa Super Cup final defeat by Manchester City last week.
However, despite having three years left on his current deal, Montiel was not included in Sevilla’s squad for Friday’s victory over Las Palmas and only managed 27 minutes against City on Wednesday.
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The talented Argentina full-back has made 72 appearances for Sevilla since signing from River Plate in 2021 but has become disillusioned after being used as a second half sub too often.
Dominguez meanwhile, is in the final year of his Bologna contract and, unlike Montiel, his club Bologna would love to keep the 25-year who wore the captain’s armband against Cesena last weekend.
However they cannot afford to let him leave for free now he has entered the final year of his contract and has knocked back all offers of a new deal.
Dominguez, who has been capped 11 times by Argentina, is keen to prove himself in the Premier League after distinguishing himself in more than 100 appearances in Serie A and wants a new challenge at this stage of his career.
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Forest kicked off their campaign with a 2-1 defeat away at Arsenal.
But they secured their first win of the season on Friday night as Chris Wood struck in the 89th minute to give them a 2-1 victory over Sheffield United.
Next up for Cooper’s men is a trip to Old Trafford to take on a struggling Manchester United on Saturday.
Source: Soccer - thesun.co.uk
