OPINION
Lucas Perez’s West Ham United career has been a bit of a rough ride, and at times this January it appeared that his stay in East London would be a short one.
Mere days before the close of the winter transfer window Sky Sports was reporting that the Spaniard was close to joining Real Betis on a permanent transfer.
That move ultimately fell through, but it was a harsh statement to the former Arsenal man. The Hammers were effectively declaring that they had given up hope on the attacker after spending just a few months with him. So disappointed in his services were they, that they were willing to boot him out of the door after just 14 games in a claret and blue shirt.
That will have been discouraging for the player to learn, of course, but he must harness any feelings of wrongdoing and channel them into better performances for the club.
Perez has, in essence, four months to save his Hammers career. He escaped January as a West Ham player by the skin of his teeth, and now he needs to show everyone at the London Stadium what he can do.
He could start by doing better in training. There have been times this season when manager Manuel Pellegrini has admitted that Perez was fit, he just didn’t make his match day squad. That must come down to the way he trains, because there’s no doubt he’s talented enough to feature ahead of the likes of Andy Carroll.
Obviously he has gotten under Pellegrini’s skin somewhat, that’s why the Chilean was willing to sell him, but it’s not too late. The time has come for a Perez resurgence at West Ham. If he doesn’t produce it then he’s doomed.
It’s not as if the Hammers are inundated with top class attackers. They have Marko Arnautovic, yes, but beyond that an unreliable cast of characters.
Javier Hernandez cannot seem to stay fit this campaign, while Carroll has lurched from one laughable appearance to the next. There’s no way that Perez isn’t deserving of more of a chance amidst the mess that is the current West Ham attack.
Ultimately it is down to the player, though, and it’s time that the 30-year-old pulled his finger out. If he doesn’t, then by the summer he could see himself landed with the very fate he avoided in January.
