OPINION
Lucas Perez has been on pretty thin ice at West Ham recently.
The striker has seen his first team opportunities limited and has largely failed to impress when he has been called upon.
Any doubts over his long term future with the Hammers were surely compounded when the 30-year-old was left out of the squad that travelled to Marbella this week for a warm weather training camp, instead being forced to stay in England and train with the U23s.
Trusted source Claret & Hugh has claimed that the reason behind the Spaniard’s omission was a matter of attitude rather than injury, and if that is true then it must surely spell the end of Perez’s time at the London Stadium.
It’s one thing for a player to be out of form, but when it is their attitude that is in doubt, it can be so hard for them to work their way back into the manager’s plans.
Look no further than Marko Arnautovic. The Austrian is arguably the Hammers’ most influential player, but ever since his Chinese transfer debacle, he has seen his chances limited under Manuel Pellegrini.
Ultimately, the Chilean is the kind of manager who will not suffer fools gladly, and if Perez is contributing as little as he is, and is showing no signs of willing to change that fact, then it is understandable that his manager is unsure of what to do with him
Nothing is nailed on, of course, but as it stands, you would have to say that the future looks bleak for the forward.