West Ham forward Lucas Perez ‘refuses to warm up’ against Everton
Hammers boss Manuel Pellegrini allegedly asked the summer signing to replace Mark Noble in the second-half, but he refused
Lucas Perez reportedly refused to warm up against Everton when asked by West Ham boss Manuel Pellegrini.
According to Sky Sports, the former Arsenal striker was supposed to replace Mark Noble in the 70th minute, but Colombian midfielder Carlos Sanchez came on instead.
The Spaniard, who only joined the Hammers a month ago, could be seen arguing with one of the club's coaches as he remained in his seat.
West Ham were fine without him, though, as they cruised to a 3-1 victory at Goodison Park.
Two goals from Andriy Yarmolenko and a third from Marko Arnautovic sealed Pellegrini's first Premier League points as West Ham boss, ending a run of four straight defeats.
The Chilean denied claims that Perez refused to warm up, referring to the substitution of Arnautovic rather than Noble.
He said: "When Marko was injured I called Lucas to warm-up, but Antonio was ready."
