{"id":1134271,"date":"2020-02-29T20:29:06","date_gmt":"2020-02-29T20:29:06","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.squawka.com\/en\/?p=1134271"},"modified":"2020-02-29T20:29:06","modified_gmt":"2020-02-29T20:29:06","slug":"lucas-perez-barcelona-arsenal-transfer-rejected","status":"publish","type":"news","link":"https:\/\/www.squawka.com\/en\/news\/lucas-perez-barcelona-arsenal-transfer-rejected\/","title":{"rendered":"Why ex-Arsenal striker Lucas Perez turned down Barcelona transfer last month"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><strong>Deportivo Alav\u00e9s striker Lucas Perez says he wasn&#8217;t interested in a Barcelona move because opportunities there would be limited.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>The 31-year-old Spanish marksman is enjoying a productive season having registered 10 goals across 24 league appearances this season.<\/p>\n<h2><strong>Perez turning Barcelona down: Five key things to know&#8230;<\/strong><\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li>Lucas Perez joined Deportivo Alav\u00e9s from West Ham last summer.<\/li>\n<li>He would make 19 appearances for the Hammers, registering six goals.<\/li>\n<li>Before he was at Arsenal but struggled for playing time and returned to hometown club Deportivo de La Coru\u00f1a on loan.<\/li>\n<li>Since moving back to Spain he&#8217;s impressed, subsequently attracting Barcelona&#8217;s attention.<\/li>\n<li>However, foreseeing a lack of playing time, Perez turned a potential move down.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>https:\/\/audioboom.com\/posts\/7510326<\/p>\n<p>Following the news Ousmane Demb\u00e9l\u00e9 is out for six months, Barcelona were given permission by La Liga to make a signing outside the transfer window, albeit the player can only come from another Spanish club<\/p>\n<p>A number of forwards were subsequently linked with the five-time European champions most prominently Getafe striker \u00c1ngel Rodr\u00edguez however, in the end, Danish centre-forward Martin Braithwaite joined Bar\u00e7a from Legan\u00e9s.<\/p>\n<p>The former Middlesbrough man subsequently made his debut in an 18-minute cameo in their 5-0 home win over Eibar, but that moment could have belonged Perez who has rediscovered his goalscoring touch following a disappointing spell in English football with Arsenal and then West Ham.<\/p>\n<p>Perez played 26 times in the Premier League, with the bulk of those (15) coming at the Hammers, and registered just four goals. Looking back, the native of A Coru\u00f1a is happy to be at a club where he&#8217;s guaranteed regular playing time, hence the disinterest when Barcelona called.<\/p>\n<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"Sancho, Haaland, Hakimi &amp; Brandt | Meet Borussia Dortmund&#039;s Fantastic Four\" width=\"500\" height=\"281\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/OpOpxJuRT0U?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p><strong>Subscribe to <a href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/channel\/UC_QgsfA8W1TdLADOz0txpTg?sub_confirmation=1\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Squawka\u2019s Youtube channel here<\/a>.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>&#8220;In the winter transfer window, like all transfer windows, teams usually call,&#8221; he told <a href=\"https:\/\/www.marca.com\/futbol\/alaves\/2020\/02\/28\/5e58070d46163f6c408b4621.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Marca<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;In fact, not only Barcelona called, but other teams as well. But in my head, I wanted to end the season here because I am happy and I have a contract.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;I didn&#8217;t want to take another misstep, where I would not have opportunities, as happened to me in England. In no case did I plan to leave mid-season, I want to stay here until the end.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;It is not the first time that Barcelona has called me, like other great clubs. The truth is that that does not distract me. What is clear to me is that I want to do well and I want to feel like a player again as I am doing here, where they have given me love since day one.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;At the end of the season, what happens, happens. I have a contract with Alaves. I am very settled and I am very happy in Vitoria, and that is reflected on the field.&#8221;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Deportivo Alav\u00e9s striker Lucas Perez says he wasn&#8217;t interested in a Barcelona move because opportunities there would be limited. The 31-year-old Spanish marksman is enjoying a productive season having registered 10 goals across 24 league appearances this season. Perez turning Barcelona down: Five key things to know&#8230; Lucas Perez joined Deportivo Alav\u00e9s from West Ham&#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":202,"featured_media":1134261,"parent":0,"menu_order":2971,"template":"","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_yoast_wpseo_focuskw":"","_yoast_wpseo_title":"","_yoast_wpseo_metadesc":"Deportivo Alav\u00e9s striker Lucas Perez says he wasn't interested in a Barcelona move because opportunities there would be limited.","footnotes":""},"tags":[],"news-category":[],"class_list":["post-1134271","news","type-news","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry"],"acf":{"external_featured_image_url":"","hide_featured_image_pattern":false},"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO Premium plugin v28.0 (Yoast SEO v28.0) - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-premium-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>Why ex-Arsenal striker Lucas Perez turned down Barcelona transfer last month | Squawka | EN<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" 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