Should Perez stay or should he go?

Ayoze Perez was one of Newcastle United’s top goal scorers last season with 12. With Salomon Rondon all but gone, and reportedly making a move to Fenerbahce, Perez is the last player with Newcastle with a scoring sheet above ten for last season.

At 25 years-old, Perez is entering the prime of his career. He’ll be at his best for three or four more season before we start to see a general winding down of him being on the top of his game. Newcastle United has two clearcut options here:

1. Sell Ayoze Perez for the previously mentioned price of almost £22m
2. Pull out all the stops to maintain the striker/midfielder as Rondon will likely not be a magpie next season.

The issue here is that Newcastle United is in such a state of disarray, it’s uncertain as to whether or not Newcastle will sell anyone. A lot of fans are looking at a Perez sale as a good thing, because Newcastle United could do “a lot” with the funds gained from a Perez sale. To those who say that, I have to say that you’re wrong.

We thought we were going to get a good amount of money out of the Aleksandar Mitrovic sale. We thought that the departure of both Moussa Sissoko and Georginio Wijnaldum were going to give Newcastle great funds for future investment. Nothing ever came of these. I do not believe that the current regime would make good use of the funds if Perez were to be sold.

To those saying that we should keep Perez should know that if a takeover were to happen, we could do a lot better than Perez in the transfer market for less than what he’s being quoted as available for. Perez is a quality player, but as of right now, he’s only been good with Miguel Almiron as a midfielder for Newcastle as well, and Almiron was bought for a club record fee.

And then there’s the question as to whether or not Perez wants to stay. I don’t blame the Spaniard for angling for a move to Valencia. Where he could play for trophies, and get his feet wet in the Champions League. It’s what every player wants, and he’s shown that he’s ready to play for such things at this stage in his career.

Perez has received much abuse from Newcastle fans over the years, and this season it’s been put to bed. Should Perez stay after the newfound love from fans? He owes us, the fans, nothing. If Rafa Benitez does not remain with the club, we are going to witness a Perez departure which looks all the more likely. The chances of retaining his services go up if Benitez remains with the club. But on the question of should he stay or should he go:

He should go. He’s proven himself good at a lot but not great at anything. But he’s been quality the past couple of seasons and has proven that he can come up big in matches. He owes us nothing, and due to the abuse in the past from fans, he may be better off going somewhere he may be more appreciated for the things that he can do, rather than what he can’t.