Nottingham Forest are joining Wolves in the race to sign Cesar Montes, according to La Grada. The centre-back is the latest in a long line of enforcers to be linked with a move to the City Ground.
It’s claimed that both clubs have asked about the player. He only signed for Espanyol from Mexican outfit Monterrey in January but is already attracting interest.
Montes has made just eight appearances for his new club. He has a contract with them until 2028 but a £27 million release clause is alerting clubs towards his availability.
Naturally, Espanyol aren’t interested in selling the player that they’ve just signed. As a result, any Premier League outfit that wants to sign him will need to seriously stump up the cash.
Montes made 265 appearances for Monterrey. He became a cult hero with the Mexican outfit having risen through their youth ranks.
During his time at the club, he caught the eye of Barcelona boss Xavi. He came up against Montes in 2019 when Monterrey faced Al Sadd in a Club World Cup fixture.
The current Barca boss told Then 24: “He is a player with great ball output and he’s very powerful. He’s a great signing for Espanyol and for the league. He has a lot of potential.”
Interestingly, it’s not the first time that Wolves have been linked with Montes. They tried to sign him in 2020 but failed to get a deal for the defender over the line.
Forest are joining Wolves in the race to sign Montes but a deal looks unlikely
Although the player has a release clause it does seem unlikely that Forest or Wolves will match it. The Reds don’t really know what league they will be in just yet next season and might be drawing up two shortlists.
One thing that does seem obvious is where Forest’s transfer priorities lie in the summer. Several links have emerged this week and they’re all involving central defenders.
The Reds have endured some rotten luck with injuries this season, particularly at centre-back. That came to a head recently when Scott McKenna and Willy Boly both went off injured at Fulham after six minutes.
Forest clearly want more reliable players at centre-back next season. Montes is the latest to be linked but this one does feel like a bit of a stretch given that Montes has only just made a move.