Lucas Perez would be open to a move to Lazio according to his agent in an exclusive interview with an Italian outlet.

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Arsenal's Spanish forward Lucas Perez celebrates his third goal during the UEFA Champions league Group A football match between FC Basel 1893 and Arsenal FC on December 6, 2016 at the St Jakob Park stadium in Basel. (PATRICK HERTZOG/AFP/Getty Images)
(PATRICK HERTZOG/AFP/Getty Images)

His agent, Rodrigo Fernandez Lovelle, told Lalaziosiamonoi.it, “Lazio asked for him last year, but nothing came of it.

“Lucas has always liked Lazio and the city of Rome, plus his great friend, Luis Alberto, plays for them.

“He still has two years left on his contract with Arsenal, so we need to talk to them first.

“As for Lucas, he likes the idea of playing for Lazio, but it’s still too early to talk about it.”

Lucas was sent back to Deportivo on loan after just one season at Arsenal.

Despite impressing when he got a chance with Arsenal, it was clear that Arsene Wenger didn’t fancy him as a player and he left last summer.

But his return has not been anything like his first spell with Deportivo.

A hero when he left, they even offered him a massive long-term deal to keep him at the club. He rejected their offer and headed to London.

5 may 2018 o jogo lucas perez benfica
O Jogo 5 May 2018

Seven goals and six assists in 36 La Liga games is a very poor return from a player who scored 17 (with 10 assists) the season before he joined Arsenal.

He’s now being linked with a move to a host of clubs, including Genoa and Benfica as Deportivo will not be extending his stay into next season.

His agent, however, does not seem to think a permanent move to Benfica would be viable. Lovelle told O Jogo, “The Portuguese clubs can’t afford the three million euros net that he receives and which he cannot abdicate. For the Portuguese reality, you can only fit in the context of a loan.”

Of course, now that Wenger has gone, there is the possibility that he could return to Arsenal to try and fight for a place under the new manager.

Speaking last summer when Wenger signed his new deal, Lucas’s agent said, “If everything is still the same and the coach is the same, in theory the opportunities are going to be the same, few, and our idea is to leave. We know that Arsenal is the ‘owner’ of the player, and that contract says that its duration is three more seasons.”

Any decision about his future will not be taken until a new manager is in place and he has had a chance to chat with the 29-year-old.

Arsenal had 15 players out on loan this season and you can read about how they have all done this season by clicking next…

In total, Arsenal sent 15 players on loan this season between the summer and January windows, so let’s take a look at how those spells are going for each of them.

by Dan Critchlow

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