Newcastle United have come a long way from the days when Sports Direct tycoon Mike Ashley owned the club and in just over one year the club has been transformed from relegation battlers to top-four contenders.
The Magpies reached their first domestic cup final since 1999 and are currently just two points off a Champions League qualifying spot inside the top four with 12 games remaining this season – a far cry from the bitter memories Ashley left behind.
Indeed, the St James' Park faithful will have only a handful of positive moments to reflect on over the unpopular owner's 14-year reign, but just like a broken clock always right twice a day – he did have some rare success when it came to transfer business during his tenure.
Ashley made some controversial decisions during his time in the northeast, particularly with certain players' futures under the reign of Kevin Keegan and Rafa Benitez, but from an individual standpoint, he made a pretty profit on some to done the famous jersey.
One of the exits he had no choice but to sanction was the sale of Ayoze Perez in 2019 when the Spaniard who had been signed for £1.5m was sold for £30m to Leicester City after the Foxes triggered a release clause in the player's contract – a technicality that Ashley claimed to regret.
Where is Ayoze Perez now?
There is no doubt that the sale of Perez was met with fury from supporters after tallying up 195 appearances, 48 goals and 17 assists, becoming one of Newcastle's shining lights in a difficult time for the Magpies.
However, since making his £30m move to the Midlands, Perez has been unable to deliver the same output for Leicester with only 15 goals and 12 assists registered over 115 appearances – although did collect himself silverware in the form of an FA Cup back in 2021.
In more recent times, the 29-year-old – once dubbed "impressive" by Alan Shearer – found his game-time dwindling under Brendan Rodgers having often been played out of his position of a number 10 or second striker which he was so successful in at Newcastle.
Having never reached the heights once seen in the North East and running out of opportunities to convince the Leicester boss that he is worthy of a spot in his attacking threat – Perez made the move to Real Betis in January this year to get some first-team football away from the Premier League.
Over nine appearances, the Spanish forward has scored one goal and delivered one assist, hitting the back of the net against Manchester United in the Europa League but inevitably being knocked out of the European competition by the Red Devils.
With that being said, hindsight is a wonderful thing and had he stayed at St James' Park things may have been very different for Perez, however, there is no doubt that a £28.5m profit on the player who has not been in better form since is a great sale.