Newcastle United attacker Ayoze Perez has revealed that he and teammate Miguel Almiron are struggling with the physical demands of the Premier League.
As ever it has been a long campaign in the top flight for the Magpies, and Perez believes that the Paraguayan is feeling the effects after arriving from MLS side Atlanta United in mid season.
“I’m not going to lie to you, it’s been very tough for players such as myself and Miguel,” he told the Shields Gazette. “You have to adapt yourself to what the manager wants. We have had to suffer and stick together and stick to the plan.
“At the end, we still have quality up front to create chances and that’s our job. You have to suffer like we did [against Leicester],” he finished.
OPINION
It’s surprising that Perez would come out and say that he is struggling with the physicality of the Premier League, let alone reveal that his teammate has also found it difficult. He’s just being honest at the end of the day, though, which should really be applauded. You just wonder whether there was any benefit to him saying this. Opponents might read this and specifically target the Newcastle duo the next time that they play. It makes sense that Almiron would be struggling a bit with the fast and furious nature of the English top flight, though. He’s coming from America where the standard of football isn’t as high and the tempo and physicality is a lot less. It will obviously be an adjustment for him. Perez, on the other hand, has been playing Premier League football for many years now. You would have thought that he’d be used to it by now. Perhaps this has been an especially rigorous season for the team, but it does seem odd that Perez came out with this.
