11 Feb 2016

Replace Benteke? Liverpool chase 'spectacular' €30k-a-week attacker who smashed La Liga goalscoring record for Galicians

This summer, Liverpool's top transfer priority has to be the recruitment of players who can score/create goals on a consistent basis, and new reports this week suggest that Reds boss Jurgen Klopp has his eye on one of La Liga's top goalscorers.

According to Italian newspaper Corriere Dello Sport:

"Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp is interested in signing Deportivo La Coruna attacker Lucas Pérez".

Perez appears to open to a move, and when asked in October about his future, Perez he told reporters:

"If I was to leave my home, it would have to be a very good offer for Depor, not just me. I want to stay here and I'll be happy if I don't need to leave. If possible, I want to finish [my career] here."

* Spent most of his career playing as a winger/AM, but Deportivo moved him to central striker this season, and it appears to have paid dividends.

* This Season: 21 goals/assists in 26 apps (One every 103 mins).

* Career Total: 48 goals/33 assists (82) in 163 games (One every 148 mins).

* Dec 2015: Equalled Bebeto's 20-year record of scoring in seven consecutive league games for Deportivo.

* Feb 2016: Broke the record for La Liga goals scored by a Galician in a single season (12). Lucas is on 14 so far.

* Dec 2015: Deportivo coach Victor raved: "What Lucas is doing is tremendous. It is not just goals, it is that he gives us a spectacular [amount of] work. He is hammering on the door of the national team".

* The Guardian's assessment: "On the pitch, he is always moving. It looks like it means everything to him. Quick, determined, chasing everything, there’s a kind of desperation about the way he plays, a need to win".

* Has a comparatively small €2.5m buyout clause in his contract.

Perez - reportedly on €30k-a-week at Deportivo - fits the Klopp transfer template: comparatively unknown, under the radar, and *cheap*. Additionally, at the age of 27, he's missed only 6 games through injury for his entire career, which is exactly the kind of robustness missing at Anfield.

Worth a bid in the summer?


Author: Jaimie K


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