One to Watch – Ayoze Perez

Name: Ayoze Perez

Date of Birth: 23/7/1993

Nationality: Spain

Former Clubs: Tenerife

League Appearances (Goals): 60 (20)

International Appearances (Goals): 0 (0)

Stat of the Day: Ayoze Perez has scored three Premier League goals this season, and each was a winning goal in Newcastle`s last three matches

Player Profile: Newcastle have continued their unwavering tradition of recruiting well-scouted foreign exports for minimal transfer fees and, more often than not, turning them into well established, sellable Premier League assets. Fabricio Coloccini was the last player Newcastle reportedly signed for over £10 million and that was all the way back in 2008; since then Mathieu Debuchy, Yohan Cabaye, Demba Ba, Papiss Cisse and Moussa Sissoko amongst others, have all been transformed into recognized top flight players having arrived for cut-price transfer fees.
Newcastle spent over a year scouting and recruiting 21-year-old Ayoze Perez from Spanish side Tenerife, who were playing in the Spanish third division when Pardew first stumbled upon the striker, warding off interest from a host of top European clubs in the process. Think of Villarreal FC courting Callum Wilson for over a year if you will.

Perez has arrived on Tyneside with a blossoming reputation in world football, having won the ‘Breakthrough Player in the 2013/2014 Segunda Division` award as well as the ‘Best Attacking Midfielder` accolade for the same season, acquiring the nickname ‘the machine to make goals` along the way. Despite having primarily been signed to feature in Peter Beardsley`s development squad this season, the slight, yet skilful, forward has already put his name firmly in Pardew`s sights with three goals in his last three games for the first team. The Spaniard`s eye for goal has seen him play at the top of Newcastle`s 4-2-3-1 formation and should his goalscoring form continue there is no reason why he won`t be the Magpies starting striker come the end of the season.

Playing Career:

Ayoze Perez was born in Santa Cruz, Tenerife, and joined his local side as a youngster, going on to feature regularly for their B side in Spain`s Fourth Division during the 2011/2012 season. The following campaign Perez joined up with Tenerife`s first team, featuring in 16 matches and scoring in one as the Blanquiazules returned to Spain`s Second Division after a two-year absence.

Having impressed in their 2013 pre-season, Perez was given a firm chance in Tenerife`s starting eleven following their promotion and managed to net an impressive 16 times throughout the campaign. He scored a hat-trick in March 2014 and ended up winning the ‘Breakthrough Player in the 2013-14 Segunda División` and ‘Best Attacking Midfielder in the 2013-14 Segunda División` awards at the LFP Awards Ceremony.

In June 2014 Perez signed a long-term contract with Newcastle United for a reported fee of upwards of £1.5 million. He made his debut in a 2-0 defeat to Man City on the first game of the Premier League season and scored his first goal for the club in a 2-1 victory over Spurs in October.