Ayoze Perez has proved a real bargain for Newcastle United.
At £1.5m Perez is the sort of snip Mike Ashley no doubt loves and at 25 years of age he still has ample shelf life.
Therefore a genuine value-for-money player , no question, given his regularity of appearance for Newcastle over five seasons between 34 and 36 times per campaign including as a sub in the league alone and heading for that sort of figure again this time round.
Over all competitions Perez’s record currently stands at 188 games and 42 goals, never better than right now having blossomed into part of a terrific front three with Salomon Rondon and Miggy Almiron.
Think of it like this: Joselu cost United more than three times as much as Perez, Christian Atsu four times more, Yoshinori Muto six times, and Jacob Murphy a whopping eight times more at £12m.
'We talk about the future here': Why Rafa is confident Ayoze Perez is not angling to leave Newcastle
Yet even Ayoze’s biggest critics amongst United supporters – and there have been plenty – must surely agree he has contributed more than any of them to United’s cause.
Ironically a lot felt it would be Perez for the chop when Almiron arrived for a club record £21m , be it playing as a No.10 or in a three.
Instead the Spaniard readily accepted the challenge and has risen to the occasion.
Of course he can improve even further – he goes to ground too easily at times, and has in the past lacked consistency as well as failing to score enough goals.
But the boy is still young which can easily be overlooked, he has unquestionable talent, and an elegance on the ball that is easy on the eye alongside Almiron.
Watch: Rafa Benitez tells Ayoze Perez to work on his consistency
Rafa has always shown great faith and persistence with his fellow countryman which also says a lot given that Benitez is accepted as a shrewd judge.
There are players – Paul Dummett is another – who have had to work extra hard to win over the crowd but it can be done and in a different way Dummett is doing it as well.
Born in Santa Cruz de Tenerife, Perez joined the youth set up at his local club in 2004 just a few years after Rafa Benitez had taken the club up to La Liga.
Excelling for the club’s ‘B’ side from 2011, he made the step up to the first team in the 2013-14 season and was a revelation in the Spanish second tier scoring 16 goals in 34 appearances.
That sparked his move to Newcastle and the Premier League in the summer of 2014, returning to Spain only to receive awards at a glittering LFP ceremony for his achievements in the previous campaign.
I can understand the lingering reservations of some fans over Perez but I believe his eventual acceptance runs in tandem with the acceptance of the current Mags. If he makes it so does United, if not they both drift into mediocrity.
