West Ham could let Lucas Perez left for Alaves who finished 11th in La Liga for around £2m as West Ham are keen to get rid of him claim the Sun newspaper.
The Hammers are looking to shift a number of players who have struggled to deliver last season and Perez is one not in Pellegrini’s plans.
He joined Arsenal for £17m in 2016 from Deportivo La Coruna but managed just one Premier League goal.
Perez still has two years remaining on his contract at the club after joining last summer for around £4m, but the Hammers want to trim their wage bill.
Originally the Hammers wanted to recoup their initial outlay but if the report is to be believed they will let him leave for half price to get his £70,000 per week wages off the payroll.
Alaves finished the season 11th in La Liga, just three points off Espanyol who occupied the final Europa League qualifying spot in seventh.
Not sure how our chairmen cal themselves businessmen if this is true. How you can’t get £4m or more for a player in todays market is beyond me, he had a decent goals per minute ratio last season, personally I think we would be better keeping him than Hernandez, save a lot more money also.
If it’s purely goals per minute, finishing ability and wages, there’s a good case to keep Perez rather than Hernandez. I’d support moving Hernandez on anyway as, for me, he’s not lived up to his past success or the cost of signing him and keeping him. But if the club appears keen to lose a good finisher like Perez – and neither of these 2 contribute much outside the box – is it for another reason? Is he a bad influence in the changing room or a moaner, for example? Anyone got any info on this?
I agree. Assuming he’s not a disruptive influence, it makes more sense to keep Perez than Hernandez. They are similar players and Perez is vastly cheaper. If they are only bench warmers chipping in with a few goals a season, Perez is the smarter option. I also think he’s worth more that 4m, particularly in Spain where his reputation is better.
For the record, I prefer Hernandez, but given all the factors, he holds more value and costs far more in wages, for a bit part player. It’s no longer worth it.