Following on from revelations that Spanish striker Ayoze Perez was snapped up this summer despite interest from Porto, the player himself has spoken in the wake of his match-winning display against Spurs to add two more sizeable suitors to his list of admirers. According to Perez - who signed for Newcastle from Tenerife after a break-out season that saw him judged the island's greatest prospect for a long time - both Barcelona and Real Madrid were interested in giving him a big chance to step up, but he felt more loved by Newcastle. He signed this summer for just £1.6m, and had shown flashes of brilliance in brief cameos before an injury to Papiss Cisse pushed him up the pecking order and gave him an early start against Spurs. He instantly made himself a hero for the Magpies, with a great glancing header to take advantage of a great ball by half-time sub Remy Cabella but he could have been in far more glamorous surroundings if he hadn't been so impressed with Newcastle's eagerness to sign him:
Yes, there was interest from those clubs (Barcelona and Real Madrid). The truth is that the Newcastle bid was quite surprising because firstly there were other teams interested. But they pushed very hard to get me. I feel they really valued me. We had to consider the different options and I finally decided to come to Newcastle I have always loved the Premier League but the main reason to come here was how Newcastle valued myself. I felt very appreciated by the club and that was the reason which made me opt to come here.
You have to wonder how Newcastle manage to convince anyone not to sign for any other Premier League club let alone teams as big as Real and Barca. Hopefully, Perez will not end up another prospect on the Nearly Men list of youth players hyped and then abandoned by the club - on which Haris Vuckic, Adam Campbell and Gael Bigirimana all currently sit.