OPINION
Lucas Perez will be hoping to see his name on the team sheet next weekend as West Ham host Southampton at the London Stadium.
The Spaniard made an appearance as a substitute in the Hammers’ last fixture, as they defeated their London rivals Tottenham Hotspur 1-0 away from home.
Although it was Michail Antonio who bagged the winner against Spurs at the weekend, it is Perez who has the best goals-to-minutes ratio out of the current crop of strikers available for selection.
According to the BBC, Perez has played 118 minutes for every goal he has scored this season. To compare, Antonio has played 297 minutes per goal, Javier Hernández has played 186 minutes per goal and Marko Arnautovic has played 230 minutes per goal.
Perez has managed to register six goals for the Hammers in all competitions this season, and is only a single goal behind Antonio who has played over double the amount of minutes in comparison to the Spaniard.
When you consider that statistics do not lie, even though they can be misleading as Perez netted a few goals against AFC Wimbledon and Macclesfield ,it’s fair to say the forward deserves a chance.
Arguably, the 30-year old deserves a start against Southampton, although it seems unlikely that Manuel Pellegrini will drop Antonio after he netted against Spurs at the weekend.
However, if Perez was to earn a place in the starting eleven against Southampton, he would have the chance to add to his already impressive goal-to-minutes tally, and increase his chances of being the main man next season.
Arnautovic was one of the three players who were subbed off against Spurs at the weekend, having not made a real impact in the game, possibly opening the door for Perez to be given a chance leading the line in West Ham’s penultimate fixture for the season.
So with that in mind, Pellegrini should unleash Perez against the Saints.
