OPINION
Lee Clark shared his thoughts on Ayoze Perez leaving Newcastle United to join Leicester City and many Magpies supporters will feel uneasy as a result.
Leicester City confirmed via their official website on July 4th that the had signed the 25-year-old attacker from Newcastle, and Clark revealed how he felt about Perez’s decision to leave.
Clark implied that Perez was perhaps motivated to leave St James Park due to Rafa Benitez leaving, and even suggested that the manager’s exit would have changed the mindset of a lot of players.
“There was talk of Ayoze Perez returning to La Liga in order to break into the Spain team before Rafa Benitez left. But I think with Rafa moving on, it’s changed the mindset of a lot of players,” wrote Clark for Tribal Football.
While The Sun previously reported that players such as Martin Dubravka, Federico Fernandez and Fabian Schar were doubting their futures following Benitez’s exit, Clark believing that could be the case will just have supporters more worried.
Clark, who played over 200 times for the Magpies, knows how a footballer thinks and was no doubt at times during his career having to consider his future once a manager leaves.
The retired midfielder therefore probably is right to indirectly imply that Perez may not be the only senior player leaving this summer.
This is a worrying thought as the Magpies squad looks desperately in need of strengthening already.
Perez was the Magpies’ leading scorer with 13 goals last season and Salomon Rondon, who is no longer at the club as his loan expired, was the club’s second-highest scorer with 12 (Source: BBC).
Rondon and Perez scored 23 of the 52 goals the Magpies scored in the Premier League between them (Source: Premier League), and the thought that other areas, aside from the club’s attacking department, could end up being weakened by player exits is a thought fans won’t want to hear.
So given that Clark’s verdict carries the implication that others may not be sure about their future, his remarks are likely to leave many uneasy.
