Ayoze Perez has ruled out a summer exit from St James’ Park, inssiting he is ‘very happy’ and ‘doesn’t want to leave’.
Perez arrived on Tyneside last summer following a £1.6million move from Tenerife, with many expecting him to slot straight into the youth ranks, but this was not the case. The Spaniard netted seven times in his debut season and received plaudits from many pundits for spectacular natural ability and work ethic.
Alan Pardew and former Manchester United boss Sir Alex Ferguson were among the long-list of Ayoze admirers, with the former saying Perez’s natural technical ability was greater than that of any striker he had worked with.
“He has surprised me at how good he has been. He is a real talent,” said Pardew. “I have been fortunate to work with some really good strikers. I think of Tevez, Sheringham, Dean Ashton, and he has got faster feet than all three of them.
“And the work ethic he has put in for the team as well, if he progresses like he is, we don’t know where he’ll end up. I was lucky enough to have a quick glass of wine with Sir Alex [on Boxing Day] and he caught his eye.”
Barcelona and Real Madrid were among the contenders for his signature before the Spanish under-21 forward moved to Tyneside last June. Now he has attracted interest from Premier League duo Arsenal and Manchester City, but Ayoze insists his future lies with Newcastle.
“Newcastle has changed my life,” Perez said. “It was a hard decision to leave Tenerife but it is a decision I do not regret having taken – it was the right one. I’m very happy at Newcastle and I feel over-valued here. I don’t want to leave. The first 10 weeks were very hard, I had to work hard to get up to speed but I knew that an opportunity to start a game would come with the passage of time.”
He went on to discuss his best match in a Newcastle and the differences between the Segunda division and the Premier League.
“[Tottenham] was a dream match. The result was 1-2 and I scored the winning goal. That made me grow a lot,” Perez said. “English football is very different from football in Spain. Every weekend you’re playing in spectacular settings. The difference is huge. There’s a lot less space. Every opposition team always has a top player and it is difficult in every game fighting for points which have much significance.”
