Newcastle: Did Ayoze Get Enough Credit For This Wonder Goal?

It was an outrageous moment, from a disarmingly brilliant, completely surprising revelation, and Newcastle fans will talk about it for a long time, but did Ayoze Perez's flick goal against West Brom deserve more acknowledgement? https://vine.co/v/OizIO50aF1L Alan Shearer has already said that had it been Sergio Aguero who scored the goal we would be talking about it for weeks, and it seems that the Spaniards audacious back heel isn't quite getting the massive reaction it should be. The trick is an incredibly difficult thing to master, particularly given the size of the target he had to hit (anywhere else and Ben Foster would have been able to reach it), and for a young import to do that in just his second league start is unthinkable. If you're Zlatan Ibrahimovic, that type of goal is your bread and butter - for Newcastle fans, it's a once in a lifetime thing. Shearer heaped praise on Perez on MOTD 2, not just for the goal but for his work-rate, which had forced West Brom's defenders to give him too much space, and which he punished them for:

€œIt helps when you have a young kid up front who seems to be willing to run in behind, to learn the game. €œHe made his intention clear early on €“ he says to the centre-halves €˜I€™m going to run in behind you€™, and that just creates himself little pockets of space up front because defenders then give him a yard of two that they shouldn€™t.€ €œWhat I like about him is that for the goal, he wants the ball when he makes his first run, it (the ball) didn€™t come but his reaction is brilliant for the second run.

The former Newcastle captain also conceded that he would have expected Ayoze to be out on loan, if Newcastle's squad wasn't so small:

€œIt is fair to say that if Newcastle had more options up front he€™d probably either be on loan or sat on the bench learning the Premier League, but he has taken his chance and shown what he can do, three goals now.€

If he continues that form, and continues to play with the kind of excitement he will become a fan favourite, and crucially for Mike Ashley and Lee Charnley, he will also be classed as a significant bargain. His value is surely already higher than the price Newcastle paid to sneak him away from Porto, Barcelona and Real Madrid, and if he continues to score with frequency, it will continue to rise. And as Shearer notes, he's already found the way to Newcastle fans' hearts:

€œAs I know more than anyone, if you score goals up there you will be an absolute hero and the fans will love him.€