Arsenal forward Lucas Perez is reportedly on his way to Fiorentina after agreeing to join the Italian side in a £7m deal.
The two sides are said to have shaken hands on the fee earlier this week, meaning that the Gunners will take a £10m hit on the 29-year-old.
Perez was loaned back to Deportivo La Coruna last season after failing to make an impression in his debut campaign in North London, and Sky Italia claims that he will now leave the club for good.
Personal terms are believed to have been agreed between the Spaniard and Fiorentina, with a medical now expected to be pencilled in.
Lazio were the strong favourites to sign Perez after the player admitted that he ‘liked the idea’ of joining them.
The forward was signed by Arsene Wenger in 2016 but failed to make any impact under the Frenchman.
Perez was loaned out to former club Deportivo last term, where he enjoyed regular game time.
And it looks as though new boss Unai Emery is ready to hand the forward an Arsenal lifeline.
Speaking to CalcioMercato, Perez’s agent Rodrigo Fernandez Lovelle said he had received no offers for his client.
“For now, there is nothing – no contact,” he said. Perez knows his chances of regular first-team apperances are limited due to Alexandre Lacazette and Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang’s role at the Emirates.
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 the 2009 summer 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.
Lucas Perez arrived at Arsenal prior to the 2016/17 season as, if not a savior, at least a credible attacking option on the receiving end of Mesut Özil’s and Aaron Ramsey’s work in the midfield. He never really worked out all that well, though, scoring 7 goals in 21 appearances that season before going out on loan last year.
It was clear that Perez, for whatever reason, didn’t really feature in Wenger’s plans following the acquisitions of Alexandre Lacazette prior to the season and Henrikh Mkhitaryan in January, so Perez spent last season at Deportivo La Coruña in Spain.
This past week, there’s been a lot of noise around Perez, mostly from Italian sources who believe that Lazio are interested in acquiring his services. The most recent reports indicate that last time they asked, Lazio were quoted a fee of €8 million for the forward, who they have targeted as one of their main priorities this summer.