OPINION
Newcastle United fans always find something to worry about and, even now when things are going so well on the pitch, another fly in the ointment has appeared.
Magpies attacker Ayoze Perez is one of the team’s most in-form players and he recently bagged a brace in Newcastle’s heroic come-from-behind victory over Everton at St James’ Park.
However, the 25-year-old has now opened the door to a return to his native Spain. Perez, who came to Tyneside from Tenerife in 2014, was asked by Marca on Wednesday whether a return to La Liga was possible for him in the future.
“Yes,” he said. “I am very grateful to Newcastle, but it is obvious that someday I would like to come back and play in La Liga.”
‘It’s obvious’. Those two words will likely have Magpies supporters sweating buckets, especially seeing as they pertain to one of the team’s longest-standing and most in-form players.
Perez is inconsistent and remains terribly frustrating at time, but there is no doubting his talent. There aren’t many players at St James’ Park who possess the same level of natural ability as the Spaniard. With that said, the Toon Army will be hoping that his La Liga return takes place some way down the line.
He still has much to achieve in the Premier League, of course. The Magpies have been in relegation trouble – or in the Championship – for pretty much the entirety of his time at the club.
Surely, then, Perez would like to stick around and see if Rafael Benitez can help push them a bit higher up the table. That’s what the Newcastle faithful will be hoping for anyway.
We will have to wait and see what happens, but one thing’s for sure, Perez’s words will have sent a shiver down the spine of Magpies fans everywhere.
