OPINION
Darren Gough claimed that it wasn’t realistic to expect Newcastle United to reinvest the £30million they could potentially be getting from Leicester City for Ayoze Perez.
Sky Sports reported on Tuesday that the Foxes were closing in on a £30million deal to sign the Magpies attacker as they had agreed personal terms and all that was left was for him to pass his medical.
Gough shared that he thought £30million was a deal that Magpies fans could accept, suggesting it’s a reasonable price, but pointed out that in his opinion the fee was unlikely to be put into the transfer kitty to help strengthen the side.
“The £30million I think we can all accept, you’re quite happy at getting £30million for him, but realistically it isn’t going to be reinvested,” said Gough on talkSPORT (17:56, Wednesday, July 3rd).
Gough is spot on to claim that at least some Newcastle fans would accept Perez being sold for £30million considering he can be frustratingly wasteful at times, shown by the fact he missed seven big chances in the Premier League in his latest campaign. (Source: Premier League)
However, Gough’s claim about the money not being invested is surely going to put the cat among the pigeons as it would be completely unacceptable if the money wasn’t reinvested in the team.
If Perez departs, he needs replacing as he was an important player for Rafa Benitez in the 2018/19 season, despite sometimes being frustrating, as he featured in all but one league game.
The 25-year-old was also the Magpies’ top scorer in the latest campaign as he scored 13 goals in his 41 outings, and averaged a goal every 229 minutes. (Source: BBC Sport)
Perez wasn’t just the Magpies’ main attacking threat either as he helped them out defensively as well.
The Spanish attacker registered 60 tackles, made 28 clearances, intercepted the ball 42 times and blocked 10 shots. (Source: Premier League)
Therefore his absence will be a notable one.
While Lee Ryder claimed in an article for the Chronicle that the funds raised from the sale of Perez would go into the transfer kitty, it would be no surprise if they didn’t as it did take the club 14-years to break their transfer record by signing Miguel Almiron in January for £20million after all. (Source: BBC)
