Newcastle's Evening Chronicle carried a report today concerning the financial rewards for Lionel Perez of his transfer from Sunderland to Newcastle just under two years ago. Despite the fact that he has never made a first team appearance for the Premiership outfit they report that he has collected half a million pounds in wages before taking account of any signing on fee negiotated before he signed.

They also reveal the fact that he is earning £5,000 per week at Newcastle United and speculate - no doubt accurately! - that the Tynesiders are paying a large proportion of his wages whilst he is on loan at the Abbey.

Perez kept a clean sheet on his U's debut today against Oxford and made one important save in the second half to preserve the two goal lead.

The report reads as follows:

Perez nets £500,000: He's never played but keeper has picked up huge wages

By Alan Oliver Chief Sports Writer

KEEPER Lionel Perez has collected a staggering £500,000 in wages - without picking up a ball for Newcastle United.

That's the sobering fact the Chronicle can reveal to Newcastle United fans tonight. And this figure does not include any signing-on fee negotiated when Kenny Dalglish brought him to St James's Park in the summer of 1998-99.

And even though Perez has now joined Cambridge United on loan until the end of the season, the Second Division club will surely be unable to foot all of his £5000-a-week wages, leaving United to top up that figure.

But the one consolation for United is that Perez came to United on a free transfer from Sunderland. And to be fair, it's hardly his fault that neither Dalglish, Ruud Gullit nor Bobby Robson has given him a first-team start.

The 32-year-old keeper must have felt on top of the world when Dalglish surprised football fans on Tyne and Wear by signing Perez just after he had picked the ball out of his net 11 times in the play-off final with Charlton Athletic at Wembley. And certainly the former Nimes keeper was happy to sign a three-year contract with United at a basic wage of £5000 a week. Especially as within a couple a weeks he was given a second-half run-out in the friendly with Juventus at St James's Park on the night Didi Hamann marked his home debut with such a blinding goal.

Since then Perez has never started a competitive first-team game, although Gullit gave him a taste of the senior action in the pre-season tour of Holland with both Steve Harper and Shay Given injured. But Perez must have known that he was not going to figure in Gullit's plans by the time United went to Parkhead to play Celtic on July 27 and the Dutchman brought in German Under- 21 keeper Marc Ziegler on trial from Stuttgart.

And when Gullit paid NAC Breda £750,000 for fellow Dutchman John Karelse after only two games, Perez must have known his chances of breaking into the United first-team were non-existent. His fortunes did not change under Robson and apart from a loan spell with Scunthorpe, Perez was left to kick his heels.

But he continued to pick up his £5000-a-week wages until he joined Cambridge on loan this week.

Thanks to Chris Spinks for drawing my attention to the article.