West Ham make move for unsettled 28-year-old PL striker – report
By Danny Wright
West Ham have approached Arsenal about signing Lucas Perez in the summer, according to a report.
The Times reports that the Hammers have made an enquiry over the 28-year-old who was subject to a £26million bid from a Chinese Super League club in January.
Perez’s agent Rodrigo Fernandez Lovelle was revealed by Calciomercato in February as saying that the striker is looking to quit the Emirates in the summer after becoming frustrated with his lack of first-team chances under Arsene Wenger.
Slaven Bilic hopes to bring the striker, who hit 19 goals last season for Deportivo, into his side after his current options have failed to deliver the goods this season.
Michail Antonio, although not a traditional striker, currently leads the club’s goalscoring charts with nine strikes to his name after playing up front on numerous occasions due to injuries to both Andy Carroll and Diafra Sakho.
Carroll has missed a lot of the season but has still managed to score six goals.
Simone Zaza was brought to the London Stadium on a loan deal from Juventus in the summer but he was sent back to Italy in January after failing to score a single goal for the east London club.
Perez has only made two league starts for the Gunners all season and has just one Premier League goal to his name.
The former Deportivo striker has impressed more in cup competitions this season as in all competitions he has struck seven goals in 21 total appearances, most of which have been off the bench.
Football Insider Verdict
Perez showed during his time in La Liga that he has the potential to become a big goalscoring talent, however that doesn’t look like happening at Arsenal. Wenger simply hasn’t used the Spanish striker enough this season and he should definitely look for a move away in the summer before his career comes to a complete halt. A move to the Hammers would be good as it keeps him in London and he will be guaranteed a starting place due to the club’s current injury-prone list of strikers. His goals for Deportivo last season included strikes against Atletico Madrid and Barcelona so he clearly knows how to find the goal, even in the big games.
In other West Ham news, this senior defender will reportedly quit the club in the summer.
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