Summary

One Aston Villa star in particular wouldn't be fazed by the prospective arrival of Sevilla right-back Gonzalo Montiel at Villa Park, according to journalist Dean Jones.

Is Gonzalo Montiel heading to Aston Villa?

According to reports in Spain via Sport Witness, Aston Villa have had 'simple contacts' with Sevilla regarding a potential swoop for Montiel this summer as Unai Emery looks to strengthen the right-hand side of his backline.

The outlet claim that River Plate and one club in Russia have expressed interest in Montiel in recent times; however, the chances of the £22k-a-week ace moving to South America are believed to be 'minimal' despite his place in Jose Luis Mendilibar's side being under threat from youngster Juanlu, who has been given an opportunity to shine in pre-season.

Last term, Montiel was ever-present for Sevilla as they stormed on to Europa League glory once again and featured 43 times in all competitions for the La Liga outfit, registering one goal and three assists, as per Transfermarkt.

Montiel has a knack for scoring crucial penalties on the elite stage and netted winning spot-kicks in Sevilla's Europa League triumph and Argentina's famous World Cup victory last November.

Nevertheless, he could be set for a new challenge in 2023/24 and it remains to be seen whether he could pitch up at Villa Park between now and the close of play in the market.

Suppose Montiel was to join Aston Villa, journalist Jones thinks that current Villans' right-back Cash would relish the challenge of fighting for his place in competition with the Argentina international.

Speaking to Football FanCast, Jones stated: "The threat of Montiel will certainly have Matty Cash on his toes, but this is a player very confident in his ability and what he brings to the table, so when he hears the club are targeting players of this level, I get the impression it actually fires him up and motivates him rather than fills him with fear. He started 20 Premier League games last season and that would have been more if he had not suffered an injury towards the back end of the season. There is not much that could deter his motivation at such a key stage of his career."

Could Matty Cash fend off competition from Gonzalo Montiel at Aston Villa?

Cash has been a consistent performer for Aston Villa since joining the club from Nottingham Forest for a fee in the region of £16 million back in 2020, as per The Guardian.

Over the course of his time at the Villans, Cash has gone on to feature 96 times in all competitions, notching four goals and seven assists in the process, as per Transfermarkt.

In 2022/23, the Poland international was a reliable presence when deployed at right-back, winning an average of 2.1 tackles per match in the Premier League, according to WhoScored.

Contributing to build-up play efficiently, Cash also completed 75 progressive passes in his time on the field last campaign for Aston Villa, as per FBRef.

Unai Emery will want to have two players capable of fighting for every position in 2023/24 and having Cash and Montiel to choose from at right-back would be a nice selection headache for the Spaniard at Villa Park.