Former Newcastle United manager Alan Pardew has revealed that he knew Ayoze Perez would be a special player.
Perez arrived at Newcastle as a virtual unknown from Spanish Segunda Division side Tenerife back in the summer of 2014 for a partly sum of around £1.5million but the striker has since developed into one of the most promising attackers in the Premier League.
Pardew was the man who brought Perez to the north east and the current Crystal Palace boss has stated that everyone knew the striker would be a success as soon as he arrived to St James' Park.
Pardew told ESPN FC: "I have always liked Perez. He has a special quality that you don't see in too many players and you can understand why there is some talk around him (and his future). Everyone at Newcastle could see that as soon as he arrived at the club.
"We asked him to adapt to the pace of the Premier League very quickly as soon as he arrived at Newcastle and that wasn't easy for him at the start. He needed some time to appreciate what was needed in this league, but technique-wise, he is top class.
"He has improved in the Premier League now and that is good to see. We always knew there was a special player in there and I'm not surprised to see him doing well."
