OPINION
It hasn’t quite worked for Lucas Perez at West Ham.
The Spaniard has been in and out of the side since he moved across London from Arsenal last summer, and his patchy inclusion has yielded just six goals in 19 matches.
When you factor in the three goals scored in cup competitions, that leaves just three in 15 in the league, and that’s simply not good enough.
At 30, there can be little argument that he is still growing or developing, and the fact of the matter is that if you sign a 30-year-old striker from a top six side, you expect him to hit the ground running.
Perez has absolutely not done that, and as a result, it is hard to see how he can have a long term future at the club.
He must surely be worried, therefore, about the prospect of having a chat with Manuel Pellegrini this week.
According to Football.London, the Chilean is planning to sit down with each member of his playing staff and talk through their future at the London Stadium.
That doesn’t bode well for Perez.
If Pellegrini is genuinely looking to sit down with his players and establish who he wants to help take his side forward, the £80,000-a-week hitman [Spotrac] must be in trouble.
He contributes very little on the field, is commanding a fairly hefty salary, and is of an age whereby he would have to be moved in the relatively near future anyway.
All the signs point to his exit this summer, and a chat with his boss might just a hasten that process.
