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Three goals in three: Lucas Perez shines after West Ham exit
If you are being kind in assessing Lucas Perez’s spell at West Ham United, you may be inclined to suggest that the striker may not have had enough of a chance during his one-year stay at the London Stadium.
The 31-year-old scored three Premier League goals in 15 appearances for the Hammers. In fairness, the former Arsenal man also scored three times in the domestic cups. And his record looks much more reasonable when you consider that he started just four league games.
His departure for Alaves in the summer did not appear to be a bad move for anyone. Manuel Pellegrini was able to shift a fringe player from the wage bill, and Perez was given the chance to get his career back on track in Spain.
But perhaps, there is now reason to believe that West Ham may have been hasty in letting Perez go.
Perez flying back in Spain
The forward has now scored three goals in his last three games. The most recent came in the 2-0 win over Celta Vigo in a crucial clash towards the bottom of La Liga at the weekend.
Meanwhile, West Ham arguably go into January needing to consider strengthening their striker options. Sebastien Haller has been an excellent signing. But Pellegrini arguably needs greater depth.
If Haller picks up an injury, Albian Ajeti will be the one remaining striker left in the senior squad. Ajeti looks some way off being at Haller’s level currently. He is young and should improve, but he could soon be under plenty of pressure if anything does happen to Haller.
It would be unfair to label the decision to sell Perez a mistake. He would have barely played had he not moved this summer anyway.
But with the former Deportivo man in fine form, and West Ham in a precarious situation, perhaps Pellegrini would be forgiven for wondering if he could have had a role to play this season had he stayed.