Gary Lineker has revealed he was “really impressed” with Ayoze Perez last season as Leicester City confirm his capture from Newcastle United.
The Spanish forward had been at Newcastle for five years, having signed for the Magpies back in 2014, going on to establish himself as a crucial member of the squad on Tyneside.
With 33 goals in the English top flight, 12 of which came last season, he sits ninth in the club’s all-time top Premier League goalscorers list, a table topped by Alan Shearer.
Leicester supporter Lineker sent a message to the Newcastle and England legend on Twitter, insisting that his Foxes side would look after the 25-year-old following his move.
Lineker wrote on his personal Twitter account: “Good signing for LCFC. Really impressed with Ayoze Perez last season. We’ll look after him Alan Shearer.”
Good signing for @LCFC. Really impressed with @AyozePG last season. We’ll look after him @alanshearer 🤣
— Gary Lineker (@GaryLineker) July 4, 2019
Opinion
Lineker is not wrong – Leicester have made a good signing. However, you have to imagine the Leicester fan and popular pundit has not seen as much of Perez as the Newcastle fans have and so he might find himself getting a tad frustrated with the Spaniard. His highlights reel, which includes a sumptuous chip versus Leicester, is fantastic but what it will not show you is how often he finds himself outclassed by quality defenders. As detailed by WhoScored, Perez had 100 unsuccessful touches – the seventh most in the division – and was dispossessed 77 times, leaving him 10th on that particular list. He is the sort of player who can come up with a moment of brilliance, often by finding himself in the right place at the right time, but he can go missing. It remains to be seen whether Leicester can get the very best out of him and maybe Lineker’s words were cleverly chosen. He is a good signing – but is he a great one?
