Former Newcastle forward released, he wanted Toon return last year

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Former Newcastle United forward Ayoze Perez is set to become a free agent this summer.

The Spaniard had spent the second half of the season on loan at Real Betis, where he scored a ‘sensational’ goal against Manchester United in the Europa League. Meanwhile his employer Leicester City tumbled towards the Championship.

The Foxes have now been relegated from the Premier League, meaning Perez has suffered relegation from the top flight of English football for the second time in his career – kind of, does it still count if he was only there for the first half of the season?

Rather than return to Leicester following his Real Betis loan, Perez will now be looking for a new club.

Leicester release Ayoze Perez

That is because Leicester have announced that Perez is one of multiple senior players who will be released this summer upon the expiry of their contract. The likes of Youri Tielemans, who has been tipped to join Newcastle, and Caglar Soyuncu are also leaving the club.

Perez is one of seven senior players who Leicester have announced will be departing the King Power Stadium. His time at Leicester ends after four years, having joined from Newcastle United in 2019 for £30million.

He made more than 100 appearances for the Foxes, helping them win the 2021 FA Cup whilst also competing in Europe.

In that respect, the move has been a success for Perez. He has lifted major silverware, which is something he never came close to doing in a Newcastle shirt.

However, he perhaps was not as influential as first anticipated when he made the move to Leicester in 2019.

Fast forward four years and he has been released, and was even loaned out for the final six months of his contract. His stock has dropped dramatically, and it is unclear where he will end up now.

No chance of a Newcastle reunion

One thing is for sure – a return to St James’ Park is not on the cards. Perez was keen to rejoin the Magpies back in January 2022, but Eddie Howe’s side opted against a move.

Now Newcastle are in the Champions League, and it is even more difficult to envision Perez wearing black and white again.

Hopefully he gets a good move for himself, as he was a reliable player who gave his all during his Newcastle days, and it would be a real shame to see his career fizzle out at the age of 29.