Lucas Pérez

Lucas Pérez
Pérez with Karpaty Lviv in 2011
Personal information
Full name Lucas Pérez Martínez
Date of birth (1988-09-10) 10 September 1988
Place of birth A Coruña, Spain
Height 1.81 m (5 ft 11 1⁄2 in)[1]
Playing position Forward
Club information
Current team
 West Ham United
Number 27
Youth career
Alavés
Montañeros
Órdenes
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2007–2009 Atlético Madrid C 55 (18)
2009–2011 Rayo Vallecano B 44 (25)
2010–2011 Rayo Vallecano 6 (1)
2011–2013 Karpaty Lviv 51 (14)
2013 → Dynamo Kyiv (loan) 0 (0)
2013–2015 PAOK 32 (9)
2014–2015 → Deportivo La Coruña (loan) 21 (6)
2015–2016 Deportivo La Coruña 37 (18)
2016–2018 Arsenal 11 (1)
2017–2018 → Deportivo La Coruña (loan) 35 (8)
2018– West Ham United 3 (0)
National team‡
2016– Galicia 1 (0)
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 23 September 2018
‡ National team caps and goals correct as of 20 May 2016

Lucas Pérez Martínez (Spanish pronunciation: [ˈlukas ˈpeɾeθ maɾˈtineθ], born 10 September 1988) is a Spanish professional footballer who plays for English club West Ham United as a forward.

After spending the first years of his career in the lower leagues, only appearing sporadically for the first team of Rayo Vallecano in Segunda División, he first made a name at the professional level with Karpaty Lviv in the Ukrainian Premier League. In 2013 he signed with PAOK from Greece, and later returned to his country's La Liga with Deportivo, where he amassed totals of 93 matches and 32 goals; subsequently, he represented Arsenal and West Ham United in the English Premier League.

Club career

Atlético / Rayo

Pérez was born in A Coruña, Galicia. After appearing for three clubs as a youth he moved to Madrid and joined Atlético Madrid's C-team, playing two seasons in Tercera División. In summer 2009 he signed with Rayo Vallecano, helping the reserves promote from the same level in his first year.

In the 2010–11 season, Pérez contributed with five games and one goal (in a 3–0 home win against Real Valladolid on 6 November 2010[2]) as Rayo returned to La Liga after eight years. He continued to be mainly registered with the B side, however.

Karpaty Lviv

Pérez after scoring a hat-trick for Karpaty in 2012

On 17 January 2011, free agent Pérez joined FC Karpaty Lviv on a three-year deal.[3] He scored his first goal for the team on 17 July, against FC Chornomorets Odesa in a 1–1 Ukrainian Premier League draw.

Pérez netted a hat-trick on 4 November 2012 in a 4–0 home win over FC Kryvbas Kryvyi Rih, including a long-distance volley from a corner kick delivery.[4] In January 2013 he joined fellow league club FC Dynamo Kyiv on loan for the remainder of the campaign, and later labelled his experience as "a nightmare".[5]

PAOK / Deportivo

On 5 July 2013, Pérez signed on a fee of €700,000 a three-year contract with Superleague Greece team PAOK FC.[6] He scored his first competitive goal on 17 August, contributing to a 3–0 home success over Skoda Xanthi FC, and on 24 November he equalised in a 3–1 win over Aris Thessaloniki F.C. in the Derby of Northern Greece;[7] he also helped to a runner-up run in the national cup, losing the decisive match to Panathinaikos FC.

On 18 July 2014, Pérez returned to Spain and joined his newly promoted hometown side Deportivo de La Coruña in a one-year loan deal, with a buyout clause.[8] He scored in his first official appearance, having started in a 3–0 home win against Valencia CF on 19 October which also marked his La Liga debut;[9] the following matchday he was replaced in the 15th minute of a 0–0 away draw against RCD Espanyol, due to a knee injury.[10][11]

Pérez only returned to action in January of the following year,[12] appearing 12 minutes in a 0–4 home loss against FC Barcelona.[13] On 23 May, against the same opponent at the Camp Nou, he helped Dépor come from behind by scoring in the 67th minute of a 2–2 draw in the last round that prevented relegation.[14]

On 23 July 2015, in his first competitive match upon his return to PAOK, against NK Lokomotiva for the second preliminary round of the UEFA Europa League, Pérez scored the opener after Róbert Mak's shot was saved, in an eventual 6–0 home success.[15] One week later, against FC Spartak Trnava for the same competition, he netted the game's only goal in the first leg.[16]

On 12 August 2015, Pérez signed a permanent four-year deal with Deportivo.[17] On 12 December, he took his season tally to 11 goals in only 15 games, helping to a 2–2 draw at Barcelona.[18]

Pérez totalled a career-best 17 goals at the end of the campaign, eventually helping his team escape relegation again.[19]

Arsenal

On 27 August 2016, Arsène Wenger said that Pérez had completed a medical examination in order to join Arsenal after the paperwork was done.[20][21] Three days later the transfer was confirmed by the club, for a reported fee of £17.1 million.[22] He made his competitive debut in the 2–1 Premier League home win over Southampton on 10 September, which coincided with both his birthday and that of teammate Laurent Koscielny, whom he assisted for his team's equaliser.[23]

On 20 September 2016, during an EFL Cup away match against Nottingham Forest, Pérez scored his first goals for the Gunners, grabbing a brace in an eventual 4–0 triumph for the third round.[24] On 6 December, he contributed with three goals in 39 minutes to a 4–1 away win over FC Basel in the UEFA Champions League's group stage, helping Arsenal win the group.[25]

On 3 January 2017, Pérez netted for the first time in the domestic league, helping his team come back from 3–0 down to draw 3–3 at Bournemouth.[26] Towards the end of the month, he provided an assist to Danny Welbeck's first-ever brace for Arsenal, in a 5–0 away win against Southampton for the FA Cup.[27]

On 31 August 2017, Pérez rejoined Deportivo on a season-long loan deal.[28]

West Ham United

On 9 August 2018, Pérez signed a three-year contract with West Ham United for a reported fee of £4 million.[29] He made his league debut for his new club nine days later, coming on as a 77th-minute substitute for Mark Noble in a 1–2 home loss to Bournemouth.[30] He scored his first goal for them on 26 September, in their 8–0 defeat of Macclesfield Town in the EFL Cup.[31]

International career

Pérez earned his first cap for the Galicia autonomous team on 20 May 2016, appearing in the 2–2 friendly with Venezuela.[32]

Career statistics

As of match played on 5 October 2018[33]
Appearances and goals by club, season and competition
Club Season League Cup Continental Total
DivisionAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoals
Rayo Vallecano 2009–10 Segunda División 1000—10
2010–11 5100—51
Total 6100—61
Rayo Vallecano B 2009–10 Tercera División 3020—3020
2010–11 Segunda División B 145—145
Total 4425—4425
Karpaty Lviv 2010–11 Ukrainian Premier League 8000—80
2011–12 266404[lower-alpha 1]1347
2012–13 17810—188
Total 511450416015
Dynamo Kyiv (loan) 2012–13 Ukrainian Premier League 00000000
PAOK 2013–14 Superleague Greece 3296012[lower-alpha 2]15010
2015–16 00002[lower-alpha 1]222
Total 329601435212
Deportivo (loan) 2014–15 La Liga 21600—216
Deportivo 2015–16 La Liga 361710—3717
2016–17 1100—11
Total 582410—5924
Arsenal 2016–17 Premier League 111733[lower-alpha 3]3217
Deportivo (loan) 2017–18 La Liga 3582100379
West Ham United 2018–19 Premier League 40210061
Career total 2408123521728493
  1. 1 2 Appearances in the Europa League
  2. ↑ Four appearances in the Champions League and eight in the Europa League
  3. ↑ Appearances in the Champions League

Honours

PAOK

Arsenal

References

  1. ↑ "Profile". Sky Sports. Retrieved 31 August 2017.
  2. ↑ "Armenteros y Lucas tumban al Valladolid y lanzan al Rayo" [Armenteros and Lucas down Valladolid and propel Rayo]. Marca (in Spanish). 6 November 2010. Retrieved 13 July 2014.
  3. ↑ ОФІЦІЙНО. "Карпати" підписали іспанського нападника [Official. Karpaty signed Spanish striker] (in Ukrainian). FC Karpaty Lviv. 17 January 2011. Retrieved 3 February 2011.
  4. ↑ "'Mendietazo' del ex rayista Lucas en su 'hat-trick' con el Karpaty" ['Goal à la Mendieta' from former Rayo player Lucas in his hat-trick for Karpaty]. Marca (in Spanish). 5 November 2012. Retrieved 8 November 2016.
  5. ↑ "Lucas Pérez: "En el Dinamo de Kiev pasé los peores cuatro meses de mi vida"" [Lucas Pérez: "I spent the worst four months of my life at Dinamo Kiev"]. Marca (in Spanish). 16 January 2014. Retrieved 13 July 2014.
  6. ↑ "Football: PAOK sign Spyropoulos and Lucas Perez – club". GlobalPost. 6 July 2013. Retrieved 13 July 2014.
  7. ↑ "PAOK beats Aris 3–1 in Greek league". Special Broadcasting Service. 25 November 2013. Retrieved 3 March 2016.
  8. ↑ "Lucas Pérez firma su contrato y se entrenará mañana sábado en Abegondo" [Lucas Pérez signs his contract and will train tomorrow Saturday in Abegondo] (in Spanish). Deportivo La Coruña. 18 July 2014. Retrieved 19 July 2014.
  9. ↑ "Cavaleiro y Lucas Pérez revolucionan al Dépor" [Cavaleiro and Lucas Pérez shake Dépor up]. Marca (in Spanish). 19 October 2014. Retrieved 6 December 2014.
  10. ↑ "El Espanyol echa de menos a Sergio García" [Espanyol miss Sergio García]. Marca (in Spanish). 26 October 2014. Retrieved 6 December 2014.
  11. ↑ "Las lesiones se ceban con Lucas Pérez" [Injuries all over Lucas Pérez]. La Voz de Galicia (in Spanish). 26 October 2014. Retrieved 6 December 2014.
  12. ↑ "Lucas vuelve a convocatoria del Deportivo casi tres meses después" [Lucas returns to a Deportivo callup after nearly three months]. Sport (in Spanish). 17 January 2015. Retrieved 26 January 2015.
  13. ↑ "Vuelve el insaciable Messi" [The insatiable Messi returns]. Marca (in Spanish). 18 January 2015. Retrieved 26 January 2015.
  14. ↑ "El Barça indulta al Dépor" [Barça pardon Dépor]. Marca (in Spanish). 23 May 2015. Retrieved 24 May 2015.
  15. ↑ "Like a revolver gun". PAOK FC. 23 July 2015. Retrieved 26 July 2015.
  16. ↑ "Europa League: Ο ΠΑΟΚ νίκησε 1–0 την Σπάρτακ Τρνάβα και ελπίζει" [Europa League: PAOK defeat Spartak Trnava 1–0 and hope]. Naftemporiki (in Greek). 30 July 2015. Retrieved 30 July 2015.
  17. ↑ "Lucas Pérez, nuevo jugador del Dépor para las cuatro próximas temporadas" [Lucas Pérez, new player of Dépor for the following four seasons] (in Spanish). Deportivo La Coruña. 12 August 2015. Retrieved 12 August 2015.
  18. ↑ "Barcelona held by Deportivo La Coruna as Lucas fires comeback". ESPN FC. 12 December 2015. Retrieved 13 December 2015.
  19. ↑ ""Es imposible pedirle a alguien los 17 goles y ocho asistencias de Lucas"" ["You cannot ask of anyone for Lucas' 17 goals and eight assists"]. La Opinión A Coruña (in Spanish). 7 September 2016. Retrieved 19 September 2016.
  20. ↑ "Arsenal boss confirms Lucas Perez and Shkodran Mustafi have been signed (Video)". 101 Great Goals. 27 August 2016. Retrieved 28 August 2016.
  21. ↑ "Lucas Perez completes move to Arsenal". Arsenal F.C. 28 August 2016. Retrieved 30 August 2016.
  22. ↑ "Arsenal sign Shkodran Mustafi for more than £35m and Lucas Perez for £17.1m". BBC Sport. 30 August 2016. Retrieved 30 August 2016.
  23. ↑ Ed Malyon (10 September 2016). "Arsenal hand full debuts to Lucas Perez and Shkodran Mustafi for visit of Southampton". Daily Mirror. Retrieved 10 September 2016.
  24. ↑ "Nottingham Forest 0–4 Arsenal". BBC Sport. 20 September 2016. Retrieved 20 September 2016.
  25. ↑ "FC Basel 1–4 Arsenal". BBC Sport. 6 December 2016. Retrieved 6 December 2016.
  26. ↑ "AFC Bournemouth 3–3 Arsenal". BBC Sport. 3 January 2017. Retrieved 3 January 2017.
  27. ↑ "Southampton 0 Arsenal 5, FA Cup: Gunners dispatch sorry Saints as Theo Walcott scores hat-trick and Danny Welbeck grabs a double". The Daily Telegraph. 28 February 2017. Retrieved 17 February 2017.
  28. ↑ "Lucas Perez joins former side Deportivo on season-long loan switch from Arsenal". The Sun. 31 August 2017. Retrieved 31 August 2017.
  29. ↑ "West Ham: Lucas Perez and Carlos Sanchez complete transfer deadline day moves". BBC Sport. 9 August 2018. Retrieved 9 August 2018.
  30. ↑ Michael Emons (18 August 2018). "West Ham United 1–2 AFC Bournemouth". BBC Sport. Retrieved 19 August 2018.
  31. ↑ "West Ham 8–0 Macclesfield: Hammers thrash Macclesfield to reach fourth round". BBC Sport. 26 September 2018. Retrieved 27 September 2018.
  32. ↑ "La selección gallega empata con Venezuela en su fiesta del fútbol" [Galicia national team draw with Venezuela in their football party]. La Voz de Galicia (in Spanish). 20 May 2016. Retrieved 23 August 2017.
  33. ↑ Lucas Pérez at Soccerway
  34. ↑ "Lucas Pérez – Trophies". Soccerway. Retrieved 5 April 2017.
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