‘Important player for us’ – Benitez praises Newcastle United 24-year-old
By Aramide Oladipo
Newcastle United boss Rafael Benitez has heaped huge praise on the club forward Ayoze Perez and acknowledged that he is delighted with the forward’s progression.
The 24-year-old has featured in every Premier League match for the Magpies this season and he has played a huge role in helping his side enjoy a great start to the new campaign.
Although he has failed to score a single goal in the top-flight this season, Perez produced an assist in the 3-0 victory over West Ham United at St James’ Park at the end of August.
Benitez had evidently kept an eye on Perez’s displays this season and although the squad is full of attacking talent, the Newcastle manager has stressed the forward’s importance to the team.
“When I came here he was playing a lot of games in the wide areas because he was what they had,” he told the Chronicle.
“Now he is more in the middle and I think the understanding with Joselu is quite good. The way that we want to play and his movements are quite good.
“I can see little things he must improve but in terms of his understanding when we have the ball and we don’t have the ball with the other players around, he is what we need.
“Nobody can guarantee that if you play with two strikers you will score more goals. Maybe you will lose control in the middle of the pitch.
“Because Perez can play as a striker, he can play as a second striker, he is an important player for us in this situation.”
The Spaniard played an essential role in helping the Tyneside club achieve automatic promotion back to the Premier League last season, contributing with 12 goals and seven assists in all competitions.
The forward has spent three years at St James’ Park and he has still managed to remain a regular in the starting lineup despite new attacking recruits such as Joselu, Christian Atsu and Jacob Murphy recently joining the club.
Perez will be hopeful that he can get his first goal of the season when Newcastle return to action against Southampton next weekend.
In other Newcastle United news, fans questioned Benitez’s call to sell this player after his international heroics on Friday.
We’ve launched a << BREAKING NEWS FEED>> exclusively for your club. ‘Like Us’ on Facebook by clicking here if you want 24/7 updates on all Newcastle United breaking news.