Our view: Emergence of West Ham teen could help Southampton sign £17m man

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Premier League pair West Ham United and Southampton were expected to battle it out for River Plate’s Argentina international Gonzalo Montiel.

They do say one man’s misery is another’s fortune. Just ask Jeremy Ngakia.

With Ryan Fredericks set to miss the next month or so after undergoing surgery on a shoulder problem, a never-before-seen 19-year-old is rapidly establishing himself in West Ham United’s starting XI.

Ngakia made his Premier League debut just over a month ago but Fredericks already faces a major challenge to reclaim his starting berth. The teenager has taken West Ham’s first-team by storm with manager David Moyes hailing a ‘fabulous’ display in the unfortunate 3-2 defeat to Liverpool last week.

Suddenly, West Ham appear to have found an unexpected solution to a problem position. And Ngakia, if he continues on his current trajectory, could save the London giants at least £17 million this summer too.

According to El Intransigente, West Ham were set to renew their interest in Argentina international Gonzalo Montiel in the off-season, despite seeing their £9 million January bid being described as ‘ridiculous’ by a clearly unimpressed River Plate boss Marcelo Gallardo.

But with Ngakia going from strength to strength, Premier League rivals Southampton suddenly look like the frontrunners to snap up a man described in some quarters as Argentina’s answer to Dani Alves.

Cedric Soares will become a free agent in the summer and Kyle Walker-Peters, a loan signing from Tottenham, has no option-to-buy clause in his contract. The Saints, then, are expected to make a new right-back their top priority in the off-season with Montiel exactly the sort of rampaging, attack-minded wideman who looks the perfect fit for a counter-attacking coach like Ralph Hasenhuttl.

And as long as Ngakia continues to produce ‘fabulous’ performances in claret and blue, Southampton will see their chances of snapping up Montiel increase every time a fresh-faced teen steps out onto a Premier League pitch.