Lucas Pérez

Lucas Pérez Martínez ([ˈlukas ˈpeɾeð maɾˈtineθ], born 10 September 1988) is a Spanish professional footballer who plays as a forward for Deportivo Alavés.

After spending the first years of his career in the lower leagues, only appearing sporadically for the first team of Rayo Vallecano in the Segunda División, he first made a name for himself with Karpaty Lviv in the Ukrainian Premier League. In 2013, he signed with PAOK from Greece, and later returned to La Liga with Deportivo, where he amassed a total of 93 matches and 32 goals; subsequently, he represented English clubs Arsenal and West Ham United in the Premier League, before rejoining Alavés where he had played as a youth.

Club career

Atlético / Rayo

Pérez was born in A Coruña, Galicia. After appearing for three clubs as a youth he moved to Madrid and joined Atlético Madrid's C-team, playing two seasons in Tercera División. In summer 2009 he signed with Rayo Vallecano, helping the reserves promote from the same level in his first year.

In the 2010–11 season, Pérez contributed with five games and one goal (in a 3–0 home win against Real Valladolid on 6 November 2010) as Rayo returned to La Liga after eight years. He continued to be mainly registered with the B side, however.

Karpaty Lviv

On 17 January 2011, free agent Pérez joined FC Karpaty Lviv on a three-year deal. He scored his first goal for the team on 17 July, against FC Chornomorets Odesa in a 1–1 Ukrainian Premier League draw.

Pérez netted a hat-trick on 4 November 2012 in a 4–0 home win over FC Kryvbas Kryvyi Rih, including a long-distance volley from a corner kick delivery. In January 2013 he joined fellow league club FC Dynamo Kyiv on loan for the remainder of the campaign, and later labelled his experience as "a nightmare".

PAOK / Deportivo

On 5 July 2013, Pérez signed on a fee of €700,000 a three-year contract with Superleague Greece team PAOK FC. He scored his first competitive goal on 17 August, contributing to a 3–0 home success over Skoda Xanthi FC, and on 24 November he equalised in a 3–1 win over Aris Thessaloniki F.C. in the Derby of Northern Greece; he also helped to a runner-up run in the national cup, losing the decisive match to Panathinaikos FC.

On 18 July 2014, Pérez returned to Spain and joined his newly promoted hometown side Deportivo de La Coruña in a one-year loan deal, with a buyout clause. He scored in his first official appearance, having started in a 3–0 home win against Valencia CF on 19 October which also marked his La Liga debut; the following matchday he was replaced in the 15th minute of a 0–0 away draw against RCD Espanyol, due to a knee injury.

Pérez only returned to action in January of the following year, appearing 12 minutes in a 0–4 home loss against FC Barcelona. On 23 May, against the same opponent at the Camp Nou, he helped Dépor come from behind by scoring in the 67th minute of a 2–2 draw in the last round that prevented relegation.

On 23 July 2015, in his first competitive match upon his return to PAOK, against NK Lokomotiva for the second preliminary round of the UEFA Europa League, Pérez scored the opener after Róbert Mak's shot was saved, in an eventual 6–0 home success. One week later, against FC Spartak Trnava for the same competition, he netted the game's only goal in the first leg.

On 12 August 2015, Pérez signed a permanent four-year deal with Deportivo. On 12 December, he took his season tally to 11 goals in only 15 games, helping to a 2–2 draw at Barcelona.

Pérez totalled a career-best 17 goals at the end of the campaign, eventually helping his team escape relegation again.

Arsenal

On 27 August 2016, Arsène Wenger said that Pérez had completed a medical examination in order to join Arsenal after the paperwork was done. Three days later the transfer was confirmed by the club, for a reported fee of £17.1 million. He made his competitive debut in the 2–1 Premier League home win over Southampton on 10 September, which coincided with both his birthday and that of teammate Laurent Koscielny, whom he assisted for his team's equaliser.

On 20 September 2016, during an EFL Cup away match against Nottingham Forest, Pérez scored his first goals for the Gunners, grabbing a brace in an eventual 4–0 triumph for the third round. On 6 December, he contributed with three goals in 39 minutes to a 4–1 away win over FC Basel in the UEFA Champions League's group stage, helping Arsenal win the group.

On 3 January 2017, Pérez netted for the first time in the domestic league, helping his team come back from 3–0 down to draw 3–3 at AFC Bournemouth. Towards the end of the month, he provided an assist to Danny Welbeck's first-ever brace for Arsenal, in a 5–0 away win against Southampton in the FA Cup.

On 31 August 2017, Pérez rejoined Deportivo on a season-long loan deal.

West Ham United

On 9 August 2018, Pérez signed a three-year contract with West Ham United for a reported fee of £4 million. He made his league debut for his new club nine days later, coming on as a 77th-minute substitute for Mark Noble in a 1–2 home loss to Bournemouth. He scored his first goal for them on 26 September, in their 8–0 defeat of Macclesfield Town in the EFL Cup.

On 4 December 2018, Pérez scored his first league goals for 700 days: coming on for Marko Arnautović, he scored twice in a 3–1 home win against Cardiff City, becoming the first West Ham player to achieve the feat as a substitute since Paulo Wanchope in 2000.

Alavés

In May 2019, West Ham accepted an offer from Deportivo Alavés for Peréz for a fee of €2.5m subject to a medical. He officially signed for the club on 3 June, making his league debut on 18 August by playing the last minutes of the 1–0 home victory over Levante UD. He scored his first goal on 29 September, the first in a 2–0 win against RCD Mallorca also at Mendizorrotza Stadium.

On 29 October 2019, Pérez equalised in a 1–1 home draw to Atlético Madrid, becoming the first Alavés player to score in five consecutive La Liga games since 1955. He repeated the feat the following match (at CA Osasuna, 4–2 loss), and in the process became their first player to achieve that in six consecutive fixtures. He found the net for the seventh time on 9 November against Real Valladolid, becoming the first player in the history of the competition to score in seven consecutive matches with two different teams, as he had done it before with Deportivo.

International career

Pérez earned his first cap for the Galicia autonomous team on 20 May 2016, appearing in the 2–2 friendly with Venezuela.

Career statistics

As of match played on 17 December 2019

Honours

PAOK

• Greek Football Cup runner-up: 2013–14

Arsenal

• FA Cup: 2016–17