According to reports, Newcastle United are one of the teams jostling to land Arsenal striker Lucas Perez. The Spanish forward has been one of the last players slated to leave the North London club and will surely be leaving today with Arsenal having little space to even fit him on the fringes.
However, he will only go to St. James’ Park if the Mags manage to sell Dwight Gayle before the window closes. Rafael Benitez has been reeling under financial constraints this summer with the club providing him little money to have a squad upgrade. This has also led to a rift between the manager and the club’s owner Mike Ashley and Benitez now can only buy players if he managed to sell a few from his squad.
Reportedly, Championship side Fulham FC have tabled a £15 million bid for Dwight Gayle, who was their top scorer last season, and Sky Sports reporter Keith Dowie has claimed that Perez is the preferred man to fill in Gayle’s shoes.
Dowie said, “Fulham’s bid for Dwight Gayle remains on the table. But Newcastle are reluctant to let the striker leave unless they can find a replacement. We are told that Arsenal’s Lucas Perez is the most likely player to arrive here today.”
Lucas Perez is desperate to leave Emirates after getting just 19 chances last season, which mostly included EFL Cup, Champions League group games and coming off the bench in the Premier League games. Despite the player scoring six goals and providing three assists in them, his injury problems have been quite concerning for the manager as he brought in Alexandre Lacazette from AS Lyon to bolster his attack.
The Frenchman’s arrival was a challenge for Perez and the Spanish forward also alleged Arsenal of giving his number 9 shirt to their new man without consulting him. A player of his calibre could be impactful for Newcastle, who already have some quality options up front in Joselu and Mitrovic.
Perez would be a serious upgrade for Benitez, who lacks technically supreme players in the attacking third. The former La Liga striker is the perfect inside forward and can prove to be devastating from the right wing. Possessing a terrific left foot, Perez can pick the goal from tight angles and also has tremendous pace on and off the ball. An academy product of Atletico Madrid, Perez also has the eye for the perfect key pass from the deep field.
But a number of clubs have been pursuing him and it is will be fascinating to see where he actually ends up in a couple of hours.
