Ayoze Perez: Is the Spaniard worth the £30m transfer fee?

The transfer window is now in full flow and one club who've been busy already are Leicester City, making two major signings.

James Justin (£8m) from Luton Town got the ball rolling and they've since followed it up on Thursday morning with the purchase of Ayoze Perez from Newcastle United.

The Spaniard ended a five-year stay on Tyneside to complete his move to the King Power Stadium and he's expected to cost in the region of £30m after the Foxes exercised his release clause - big money.

The move comes as a hammer blow to the Magpies who've lost Rafa Benitez already this summer, whilst it also looks increasingly likely that last seasons on-loan hero Salomon Rondon will be moving elsewhere.

Perez was something of a cult hero up at St. James' Park and last term he enjoyed his most prolific in terms of goals scored, netting 12 in the top flight along with recording two assists.

His departure leaves his former employers significantly weakened in the striking department, but on the other hand Leicester now have a very decent forward on their hands.

He's been brought in to give support to Jamie Vardy in attack and Brendan Rodgers will have been encouraged by what he saw from the 25 year-old last term. Perez is more of a second striker as opposed to an out-and-out centre forward, he links up midfield and attack but also enjoys getting in the box and on the end of crosses.

He's a capable goalscorer and creator which bodes nicely for this forward thinking Foxes side who many are tipping to push for sixth position next season.

But £30m is a hell of a lot to shell out for a player who only hit double figures in the Premier League for the first time last season. Will he offer value for money?

£30m used to be seen as a staggering amount of money to pay for a footballer, but now we're seeing that figure become more of the norm, such is the ridiculous amount of wealth on offer in the game.

And that's exactly what Leicester have had to fork out to land their man and despite this fee becoming more common in the game, it puts a fair amount of pressure on the 25 year-olds shoulders.

At Newcastle he was bought for just £1.5m and became an important part of the side over the last five years. He's never really been recognised in terms of goalscoring until last season but he's always been commanded by Magpies supporters for his work rate and determination - something which will be important at his new club.

Since Brendan Rodgers arrived at Leicester late last season he brought with him his philosophies and ideas, with him trying to bring free-flowing, high press, attacking football to the King Power Stadium. This requires both technical ability and athleticism - two things that Perez brings in abundance.

He's at his best when playing off a front man which will be music to the ears of Jamie Vardy, who's spent the last couple of seasons as a lone front man but has continued to bang in the goals. Service to the 32 year-old should improve and the Spaniard should also shoulder some of the goalscoring burden - something that hasn't really happened with the likes of Kelechi Iheanacho, Islam Slimani and Shinji Okazaki.

If he can weigh in with a few assists and hit around 10 league goals then he'll definitely be viewed as a success. The Foxes finished in 11th position in the 18/19 PL campaign in terms of goals scored (51) and 18 of them came courtesy of Vardy. Perez gives provides them with something different in attack and he'll receive much better service than he did at Newcastle.

This is a question that many have been asking and it would require a significant improve in terms of points accumulated, but Leicester's squad on paper is certainly one of (if not the) best outside the top six - so why can't they challenge them?

Their end of season form under Brendan Rodgers made impressive reading and after spending a full pre-season under the former Liverpool and Celtic boss, they should be raring to go come 11th August when they take on Wolves.

The Northern Irishmen has an armoury of exciting young players at his disposal with the likes of James Maddison, Ben Chilwell, Hamza Choudhury, Demarai Gray and Wilfred Ndidi all very exciting talents. Throw Ricardo Pereira, Kasper Schmeichel and the in-demand Harry Maguire into the mix & you have a superb looking team.

Retaining Maguire would send out a huge statement that they mean business and they're believed to have turned down a mega £70m bid from Manchester United for their star man, so it'll be interesting to see if they test their resolve again.

Added to that the Foxes are also expected to complete the signing of Youri Tielemans from Monaco for a club record £40m. The Belgium international was a revelation when he joined the club on loan in January and capturing him permanently would certainly represent significant coup for Rodgers.

The prospect of him, Ndidi and Maddison lining up together in the middle of the park will have Leicester fans drooling and if they can pick up where they left off last term, hang onto their star players and add a couple more they could realistically push on for the top six and European football.

Very exciting times to be a Leicester City fan once again.