Ruben Aguilar’s Ligue 1 displays for Montpellier have earned links with Premier League trio Palace, Brighton and Hove Albion and Ralph Hasenhuttl’s Saints.
South Coast rivals Southampton and Brighton are going head to head to sign Montpellier defender Ruben Aguilar, according to France Football, while Crystal Palace see him as a potential replacement for Aaron Wan-Bissaka.
Montpellier caused something of a stir by finishing sixth in the French top flight last season, conceding just 42 goals in 38 games. That is a better defensive record than Lyon, Marseille, Monaco and Couple de France winners Rennes.
And Aguilar was a major reason for their success. The former Auxerre right-back started 29 Ligue 1 games, providing solidity at the back with an average of three succesfuly tackles a game. He also offers quality in the final third too, tallying five assists in 2018/19.
As a result, Montpellier face a challenge hanging on to Aguilar with the English transfer window set to slam shut in just over a week.
It is no secret that Crystal Palace need a right-back after selling Wan-Bissaka to Manchester United and Aguilar is the latest to be linked, following Max Aarons, James Justin and Timothy Castagne.
Brighton need to replace the retired Bruno Saltor while Southampton are expected to sell Portugal international Cedric Soares in the near future, opening the door for Aguilar to move to St Mary’s.
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