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Perez Hoping To Face Canary Islands Idol
Written by Newcastle Utd
After a strong pre-season, Ayoze Perez is hoping to be involved against Manchester City - and fellow Canary Islander David Silva - on Sunday
By Dan King - Newcastle United Digital Editor
Spanish starlet Ayoze Pérez is hoping that his promising performances this pre-season could earn him a place in the squad for Sunday's Barclays Premier League opener against champions Manchester City - and bring him face to face with David Silva.
The 21-year-old, who joined Newcastle from CD Tenerife in June, scored his first Magpies goal against Sheffield Wednesday last month and set up Rémy Cabella's late equaliser at Huddersfield six days later.
He was also heavily involved in Moussa Sissoko's strike against Real Sociedad last weekend and Alan Pardew has been impressed by how quickly the young forward has adapted to his new surroundings.
Pérez was born in Santa Cruz de Tenerife in the Canary Islands, which has a population of just over two million people, and one of his idols is City playmaker Silva, who hails from nearby ArguineguÃn.
"I haven't had the pleasure of meeting him but he's from Gran Canaria and he's a fantastic player; a player to be admired," Pérez told nufc.co.uk.
"I'm looking forward to coming up against players like that. Having only been here for a short space of time, if I find myself on the pitch with David Silva that would be an incredible moment for me."
He added: "Everything has happened so quickly.
"But he's a fantastic player and it would really be a great achievement if I could be involved in that first game and come up against David Silva if he's playing for Man City."
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