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Rafael Benitez claims interest in Newcastle star Ayoze Perez

Newcastle manager Rafa Benitez on the touch line during the Premier League match between Newcastle United and Southampton at St. James Park on Marc...
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Newcastle United manager Rafael Benitez speaks highly of Ayoze Perez.

Rafael Benitez, Manager of Newcastle United reacts during the Premier League match between Newcastle United and Arsenal at St. James Park on April 15, 2018 in Newcastle upon Tyne, England.

Newcastle United manager Rafael Benitez has revealed to ChronicleLive that Ayoze Perez has attracted interest from other clubs.

The 24-year-old forward has scored five goals and provided five assists in 23 Premier League starts for Newcastle so far this season.

The former Spain Under-21 international, who cost Newcastle £1.5 million in transfer fees when he joined from Tenerife in the summer of 2014 according to The Guardian, scored nine goals and provided six assists in 25 league starts in the Championship for the Magpies during the 2016-17 campaign.

Benitez has revealed that there has been interest in Perez, and the former Liverpool and Real Madrid manager has also stated that he can still improve and needs to be consistent.

Newcastle goalscorer Ayoze Perez blows a kiss to the crowd during the Premier League match between Newcastle United and Arsenal at St. James Park on April 15, 2018 in Newcastle upon Tyne,...

“Obviously we know he has talent and he has quality, but he has to be more consistent,” Benitez told ChronicleLive about Perez.

“If not, if he was more consistent, maybe he’d be scoring 20 goals a season and he wouldn’t be here. We’d have teams from Spain or England knocking on the door and asking for him.

“At the moment, we have teams asking for him, but still we can enjoy him because he’s a player who has plenty of room for improvement, and he’s working hard, and is keen to learn.”

Ayoze Perez of Newcastle United celebrates with teammate Deandre Yedlin after scoring his sides first goal during the Premier League match between Newcastle United and Arsenal at St. James...

Lack of consistency

Perez is a good player, but the Spanish forward lacks consistency – this is something that he needs to address.

With ChronicleLive claiming of past interest in the Newcastle forward from Barcelona, Real Madrid, Tottenham Hotspur and Manchester United, one should not be surprised if in the future, the 24-year-old is the subject of heavy interest from Europe’s biggest clubs.