Arsenal have kicked off their summer clear out by accepting a lowball bid for Lucas Perez.
Sporting Lisbon are trying to sign the Spanish forward but were struggling to come up with the funds.
Perez joined Arsenal for £17m in 2016 and has scored just one goal.
He went out on loan to Deportivo La Coruna last term and looks set for a permanent switch.
Lisbon have offered just £4.4m and Arsenal, according to Portuguese publication A Bola, have now accepted the offer in a bid to clear the decks.
Arsenal are desperate to sell fringe players who are not in Unai Emery’s plans.
Pérez was born in A Coruña, Galicia. After appearing for three clubs as a youth he moved to Madrid and joined Atlético Madrid’s C-team, playing two seasons in Tercera División. In the 2009 summer he signed with Rayo Vallecano, helping the reserves promote from the same level in his first year.
In the 2010–11 season, Pérez contributed with five games and one goal (in a 3–0 home win against Real Valladolid on 6 November 2010) as Rayo returned to La Liga after eight years. He continued to be mainly registered with the B side, however.
On 17 January 2011, free agent Pérez joined FC Karpaty Lviv on a three-year deal. He scored his first goal for the team on 17 July, against FC Chornomorets Odesa in a 1–1 Ukrainian Premier League draw.
Pérez netted a hat-trick on 4 November 2012 in a 4–0 home win over FC Kryvbas Kryvyi Rih, including a long-distance volley from a corner kick delivery. In January 2013 he joined fellow league club FC Dynamo Kyiv on loan for the remainder of the campaign, and later labelled his experience as “a nightmare”.
On 5 July 2013, Pérez signed on a fee of €700,000 a three-year contract with Superleague Greece team PAOK FC. He scored his first competitive goal on 17 August, contributing to a 3–0 home success over Skoda Xanthi FC, and on 24 November he equalised in a 3–1 win over Aris Thessaloniki F.C. in the Derby of Northern Greece; he also helped to a runner-up run in the national cup, losing the decisive match to Panathinaikos FC.
On 18 July 2014, Pérez returned to Spain and joined his newly promoted hometown side Deportivo de La Coruña in a one-year loan deal, with a buyout clause. He scored in his first official appearance, having started in a 3–0 home win against Valencia CF on 19 October which also marked his La Liga debut; the following matchday he was replaced in the 15th minute of a 0–0 away draw against RCD Espanyol, due to a knee injury
Pérez only returned to action in January of the following year,appearing 12 minutes in a 0–4 home loss against FC Barcelona. On 23 May, against the same opponent at the Camp Nou, he helped Dépor come from behind by scoring in the 67th minute of a 2–2 draw in the last round that prevented relegation.
On 23 July 2015, in his first competitive match upon his return to PAOK, against NK Lokomotiva for the second preliminary round of the UEFA Europa League, Pérez scored the opener after Róbert Mak’s shot was saved, in an eventual 6–0 home success. One week later, against FC Spartak Trnava for the same competition, he netted the game’s only goal in the first leg.
On 12 August 2015, Pérez signed a permanent four-year deal with Deportivo. On 12 December, he took his season tally to 11 goals in only 15 games, helping to a 2–2 draw at Barcelona.
Pérez totalled a career-best 17 goals at the end of the campaign, eventually helping his team escape relegation again.
On 27 August 2016, Arsène Wenger said that Pérez had completed a medical examination in order to join Arsenal after the paperwork was done. Three days later the transfer was confirmed by the club, for a reported fee of £17.1 million. He made his competitive debut in the 2–1 Premier League home win over Southampton on 10 September, which coincided with both his birthday and that of teammate Laurent Koscielny, whom he assisted for his team’s equaliser.
On 20 September 2016, during an EFL Cup away match against Nottingham Forest, Pérez scored his first goals for the Gunners, grabbing a brace in an eventual 4–0 triumph. On 6 December, he contributed with three goals in 39 minutes to a 4–1 away win over FC Basel in the UEFA Champions League group stage, helping Arsenal win the group.
On 3 January 2017, Pérez netted for the first time in the domestic league, helping his team come back from 3–0 down to draw 3–3 at Bournemouth. Towards the end of the month, he provided an assist to Danny Welbeck’s first-ever brace for Arsenal, in a 5–0 away win against Southampton for the FA Cup.
On 31 August 2017, Pérez rejoined Deportivo on a season-long loan deal.