Everton want Leicester City attacker free of charge

Still, he was monitored for the rest of the season and the club kept their interest going into the summer as they looked to reshape their front-line. Eventually though, Frank Lampard and his staff elected to sign Burnley’s Dwight McNeil instead after the Lancashire club were relegated to the Championship.

It wasn’t only Everton who were looking at Perez though, according to the Echo both Crystal Palace and Fulham were keen on him as well. Neither move materialised; be that because Perez wanted to fight for his place at the King Power, or if clubs were turned off by the Foxes’ transfer valuation. The club were never going to receive anything close to the £30m they paid in 2019, but perhaps they still were after double figures for their make-shift winger.

However, Perez’s career in England could be coming to a close altogether as he reportedly would prefer a move back to Spain to be nearer to his family. He signed for Newcastle in 2014 and he has only played his football in the UK since – after living through a pandemic away from Spain, a move back to his motherland is very understandable.

If Everton still want their man, they’ll have to move quick to beat off other offers. Whilst he isn’t worth £30m, picking up Perez on a free could be very savvy business if he is allowed to play in a role that best suits him.

Whether you view his time at Leicester as a failure or a success, Perez carved himself into Foxes history on multiple occasions. His hat-trick helped the club demolish Southampton in a 9-0 record breaking result, but it was also Perez who intercepted a Chelsea pass in the direct build up to Youri Tielemans’ FA Cup-winning goal.