Rafael Benitez going public over Lucas Perez will have put some pressure on Newcastle United.
Combined with the Spanish manager making it clear he’s been frustrated by the summer transfer window, and Newcastle’s activity in it so far, Benitez speaking about Perez was always going to get attention, and that’s almost certainly why he did it.
Benitez has had disagreements about transfers at pretty much every club he’s spent serious time at, so it’s only natural for that to continue at Newcastle.
Deportivo La Coruna were knocked back by interest from Newcastle. Added to claims from Turkey, Depor quickly realised that Arsenal’s Perez was slipping away from their grasp.
Whilst it’s conceivable that Perez would knock back a move to Turkey, Newcastle are able to provide Premier League football, good wages, and a decent financial solution for Arsenal.
However, Estadio Deportivo report that despite Benitez going public there’s been ‘no news from Newcastle’. There’s no big advance right now to scare Deportivo, so they’re getting confident again, and won’t rule out Lucas Perez arriving.