Lucas Perez has been reborn in La Liga with Alaves since leaving West Ham United after one Premier League season at the London Stadium.
Lucas Perez’s dream start to life at Alaves isn’t coming to an end any time soon.
While last season’s surprise packages have endured a difficult start to the new La Liga campaign, their £2.2 million summer signing from West Ham United has been a man reborn in attack – showing the kind of form not seen from him since that outstanding season with Deportivo La Coruna which paved the way for a £17 million move to Arsenal.
The 31-year-old dispatched a penalty as Alaves lost 4-2 in a local derby clash away at Osasuna over the weekend, meaning he has now scored in sixth successive games for his new team. That, by the way, is a club record.
In fact, the last player to score in five straight matches for Alaves was Wilson Alfredo Jonas Rodriguez. We’ll forgive your blank stares. That was all the way back in 1953-54 after all.
Lucas has form in this department. During the 2015/16 season, he found the net in seven La Liga games in a row for his boyhood club Deportivo, matching but not breaking the record set by legendary Brazilian Bebeto.
If that was nagging in Perez’s mind, however, that clinically dispatched spot-kick away at Osasuna should exercise the demons. This came after a stunning volley against Celta Vigo and an Arjen Robben-esque whip in a draw with Atletico Madrid.
And West Ham fans won’t need remining that the reborn number nine has scored as many goals in six games for Alaves as he managed in 19 for Manuel Pellegrini’s side.
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