OPINION
West Ham United looked to bolster their attacking options this summer with the signing of attacker Lucas Perez from Arsenal.
However, the move for the 5ft 10in Spaniard [Source: Transfermarkt] is already looking like money wasted as he struggles to make an impact for Manuel Pellegrini’s side.
At 30 years of age Perez was never a long term purchase. His value was rooted in his ability to make an impact now, something that he is clearly not capable of doing, on a reported – and he’s on a massive reported £80,000-a-week.
Despite Pellegrini bringing him in this off season, the Chilean doesn’t appear to have faith in the former Gunner, handing him just 85 minutes of Premier League football so far this term. That doesn’t suggest that Perez is showing anything in training to convince the boss that he is good enough to be a first team regular.
He’s played roughly double that amount in the Carabao Cup, however, where he netted in the team’s 8-0 thumping of Macclesfield Town last time out. But his involvement in that competition merely highlights his status as an afterthought of the manager’s.
Perez was handed the chance to change the game when he came off the bench against Brighton & Hove Albion in the Premier League before the international break, but could do little to affect the outcome as the Hammers slipped to a 1-0 defeat.
It already seems like the 30-year-old is trying to climb over an inestimable brick wall, with Pellegrini determined not to hear the Spaniard’s nails scrabbling against the surface.
His usefulness will decrease even further once Javier Hernandez and Andy Carroll return to the fray in the coming weeks, both players who possess more of an ability to change games from the substitute’s bench.
It’s looking like money wasted by the club this summer, as Perez clearly has no real role in Pellegrini’s system. The Spaniard was clearly brought in to fill a spot on the roster, but he may not even be doing that for long if his current malaise continues.
