According to an ‘exclusive’ from Football Insider, Newcastle will demand £35m for Ayoze Perez this summer.
The Spaniard is now our leading scorer in the Premier League with 10 goals so far and the hat-trick hero refused to rule out a move away over the weekend, claiming he’s aware of interest and will have a ‘big decision’ to make this summer.
As a result, Football Insider are claiming Newcastle won’t let him leave for anything less than £35m, with several La Liga sides expected to make moves for the in-form 25-year-old:
‘Newcastle United will demand £35million for man-of-the-moment Ayoze Perez after he opened the door to a summer exit, Football Insider understands.
‘The north-east giants will look to make a massive profit on a player they signed for £1.5million from Tenerife if he leaves St James’ Park after five years.
‘A Newcastle source told Football Insider that Perez’s value has multiplied as a result of a rich vein of form, which has yielded eight league goals since the end of January and a series of matchwinning displays.
‘The playmaker opened the door to quitting St James’ Park in the wake of his weekend hat-trick against Southampton, his first in English football.’
It may seem a little excessive, but, in this day and age, you have to pay huge money to sign proven Premier League player – and it’s fair to say he is one after getting into double figures in the last two seasons.
Some fans would no doubt bite a club’s hand off if an offer anywhere near £35m arrived, but he’s been proving since the turn of the year just why Rafa rates him so highly.
A player who works hard, chips in with 10 goals and fits perfectly into Rafa’s system will be hard to replace.
Keep Benitez at the club and I can see Perez staying, but lose him and there could well be more than one Spaniard saying goodbye to St James’ Park this summer.