West Ham United’s search for a new centre forward has taken a fresh twist, with the club enquiring about Arsenal attacker Lucas Perez, according to the Mail.
The newspaper’s live transfer blog (04/08; 19:12) claimed that the Hammers have asked the Gunners about the availability of the Spaniard.
Manuel Pellegrini’s side have been in the market for a new front man all summer, with just three recognised centre forward’s in the squad at present.
Perez signed for Arsenal from Deportivo in 2016 but struggled to convince former boss Arsene Wenger and returned to the Spanish side on loan last season.
OPINION
The Hammers have been crying out for a new striker all summer, with the team painfully reliant on Javier Hernandez currently. Deals for Porto’s Moussa Marega, Celta Vigo’s Maxi Gomez and Real Betis’s Antonio Sanabria all appear to have fallen by the wayside, and so the club have turned their heads a little closer to home. Perez was never given a real chance at Arsenal, with Wenger deciding he didn’t fancy the player shortly after spending £17.1million on him. The Spaniard is a pacy player, with an excellent left foot. He is creative, as well as being capable of scoring goals, so would likely pair rather well with ‘Chicharito’. With Alexandre Lacazette, Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang and Danny Welbeck all entrenched at the Emirates Stadium, it’s likely the Gunners would agree to his sale. The former Deportivo man would surely cost a lot less than Marega, Gomez or Sanabria, and could end up surprising some people in East London. This could be a solid under-the-radar signing in a summer full of headline-grabbing moves for West Ham.
