Monchi could hold the key to Aston Villa signing a World Cup-winning star, with an alternative transfer now described as unlikely for the 26-year-old.

On June 16, Villa confirmed Monchi would leave Sevilla to become their new president of football operations. The move saw Monchi reunite with Unai Emery, following their hugely successful period at Sevilla.

Monchi’s arrival came six days after Villa announced they had agreed to sign Youri Tielemans on a free transfer from Leicester City.

Since then, Monchi has used his connections in La Liga to raid Villarreal for centre-back Pau Torres, while also breaking Villa’s transfer record by landing Moussa Diaby from Bayer Leverkusen.

With Villa eyeing a top six finish in the Premier League and the latter rounds of the Europa Conference League, they will not be stopping at just three signings.

According to Spanish outlet Estadio Deportivo, Villa are also interested in taking Gonzalo Montiel to the West Midlands.

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The right-back had an incredible season in 2022-23, scoring the winning penalty for Argentina at the Qatar World Cup and netting the winning spot-kick for Sevilla in the Europa League final.

Despite his heroics at both international and club level, Montiel’s relationship with Sevilla has broken down in recent weeks. And he is now looking for a way out of Spain.

Aston Villa want second Argentina World Cup winner

Monchi is hoping to capitalise on the situation by signing Montiel for Villa. Such a move would reunite Montiel with his World Cup-winning team-mate Emi Martinez, who is Villa’s first-choice goalkeeper.

The report goes on to state that Monchi would also be doing his former club Sevilla a ‘favour’ by snaring Montiel, as the La Liga outfit do not want an unhappy player in their squad.

Villa are not the only team to have been linked with the defender recently. River Plate have also expressed a desire to take Montiel back to his native Argentina.

However, the chances of that move happening are described by the report as being ‘minimal’ because Montiel hopes to continue playing in Europe.

The La Liga star is also being courted by an unnamed Russian club, although it remains to be seen if they would be able to convince him on such a left-field move. At this moment in time, Villa must be considered the frontrunners for Montiel’s signature.

Bringing in Montiel would be another sensible move from Villa. He would be able to provide competition and backup for first-choice right-back Matty Cash. This would ensure Villa can always rely on a top right-back even when Cash is rested amid the busy Prem and European campaign.

The report does not mention how much Montiel might cost, although transfermarkt put his value at €12million (£10.3m). His Sevilla contract runs until June 2026.