At £13m would Bony be a better buy for Newcastle than Arsenal’s Perez?

Follow us on Google Discover

Manchester City are prepared to sell Wilfried Bony for £13m, while it will cost Newcastle £13.4m to sign Lucas Perez from Arsenal.

Manchester City have told Swansea City that it will cost them £13m if they want to re-sign Wilfried Bony this summer, according to the Mirror.

The Swans are said to have already had a £10m bid rejected as they look to bring the striker back to the Liberty Stadium two-and-a-half years after selling him to the Citizens.

Wilfried Bony of Stoke City (L) takes the ball past Pedro Obiang of West Ham United (R).

There is also interest in Bony from Turkish duo Besiktas and Fenerbahce, while China remains an option, but the 28-year-old is thought to favour staying in the Premier League.

While a return to Swansea, for whom he scored 35 goals in 70 appearances, would undoubtedly be tempting for the Ivory Coast international, should Newcastle United consider entering the race for the forward?

They are known to be looking to bolster their options upfront as they prepare for life back in the English top tier and have been heavily linked with Arsenal’s Lucas Perez – someone manager Rafa Benitez admits he is an admirer of.

“I like the player because I have good friends in A Coruna,” Benitez was quoted saying about the former Deportivo La Coruna star by the Evening Standard.

“I know that he did really well. He’s come here and not played in many games, but I like the player.”

The same report outlines that it would cost £13.4m to sign Perez, who scored seven times in 21 games for the Gunners in 2016/17.

Arsenal’s Lucas Perez celebrates his third goal during the UEFA Champions league Group A match against FC Basel.

Like Bony the Spaniard is 28, but unlike the Ivorian does not have the same experience when it comes to scoring in English football.

While Perez did admittedly struggle for consistent game time under Arsene Wenger last term, his ratio of one Premier League goal in 11 matches does not come anywhere close to the 34 in 100 games that the City forward has scored.

Bony may have struggled himself to find decent form since leaving south Wales, but as the main man in attack at St James’ Park he could well be a better and cheaper alternative to his Arsenal counterpart.