Ayoze Perez endured a disappointing Newcastle United return on Sunday.
The Spaniard started for Leicester at St James’ Park, but left the North East having suffered a last-second sucker punch from Bruno Guimaraes.
The Brazilian’s header had SJP rocking, leaving Perez to wonder what might have been.
He left the club in the summer of 2019. After netting 12 Premier League goals, his best ever tally, the Foxes activated his release clause. They paid £30million for the forward, who joined an ambitious club trying to compete for a place in Europe.
Meanwhile, he left a Newcastle team that was intent on doing the bare minimum. Mike Ashley made a huge profit, having signed Perez for just £1.5million in 2014.
However, everything has changed in three years. The Magpies have ambitious owners, and the buzz is back for fans.
And, according to the Chronicle, Perez has taken note.
Ayoze Perez was open to Newcastle comeback
The Chronicle have reported that Perez was open to a Newcastle return during the January transfer window. However, no approach was forthcoming.
Eddie Howe’s signed have done brilliantly since the turn of the year, with the new signings all fitting in seamlessly. The Magpies are now 12 points clear of the relegation zone, meaning safety is all but secured.
However, another forward wouldn’t have gone amiss in January. Moves for Jesse Lingard and Hugo Ekitike collapsed, and it looked like Newcastle had been left short up top.
Luckily, those transfer failures haven’t mattered, but perhaps Newcastle could have done even better had Perez return to St James’ Park.
Then again, he’s hardly performing well at the King Power. The 28-year-old is having a season to forget. He’s featured just 18 times in all competitions, scoring a single goal.
Regardless, it speaks volumes about the state of the club that a player who left in 2019 was keen on returning.
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