Lucas Perez may finally have decided on his destination after a summer of speculation with Arsenal favourites to land the Deportivo striker.
Lucas Perez has been left out of Deportivo’s squad to play Real Betis in La Liga this weekend as the striker closes in on a move to the Premier League.
The 27-year-old, whose 17 league goals ensured his boyhood club avoided the drop from the Spanish top flight last season, had been heavily linked with a move to Leicester City and Everton in recent days.
However, Arsenal appear to have moved to the front of the queue with BBC Sport reporting on Thursday evening that the Gunners had agreed to trigger the uncapped Spaniard’s £17 million release clause.
And the transfer appears to have moved closer still with Depor revealing via their official Twitter account that Lucas would not travel with the squad to face Betis on Friday night.
According to the Mirror, Everton believed they had concluded a deal with new director of football Steve Walsh a keen admirer of the forward.
It is believed that Walsh (below, left) was intent on signing Lucas while working as chief scout for Leicester.
The Mirror also report that Valencia and Barcelona also held an interest but Deportivo expect Lucas to sign for Arsenal before the transfer window closes next week with the offer of Champions League football and a huge wage increase central to the striker’s desire to move to London.
Lucas has been frequently likened to Jamie Vardy (below), who Arsenal attempted to sign earlier this summer.
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