Southampton are reportedly lining up a January swoop for Arsenal’s Lucas Perez.
As we reported last night, the Saints are looking to find a replacement for the injured Charlie Austin despite having Shane Long and Jay Rodriguez to call upon and has set their sight on the out-of-favour Arsenal striker.
The Spaniard arrived from Deportivo La Coruna for £17 million over the summer but has suffered a mixed start to his Arsenal career.
Perez, 28, has only featured seven times for the Gunners so far this season but has managed to net five goals along the way. However, the Spaniard cannot get a decent run in the side with the form Alexis Sanchez is in, and with Olivier Giroud in front of him in the pecking order and Danny Welbeck only a week away from returning to first-team training, Perez’s opportunities are likely to be further limited, forcing him to leave the club next month.
It’s believed Southampton manager Claude Puel is now eyeing up a move for Perez as his side bid for a Europa League finish this season.
With this being said, should Arsenal look to loan Perez out this January?
Southampton would certainly guarantee Perez minutes that he won’t be getting if he chooses to remain at Arsenal, especially with three other strikers ahead of him.
If Arsenal do decide to put the Spaniard on the loan transfer list this January then the striker would not be short of options.
Perhaps a loan move away would benefit Perez this January and if he does depart the club until the end of the season, then hopefully it is for a Premier League club just so that he can gain experience in the top tier in English football.
