Manchester United midfielder Andreas Pereira is being linked with an exit of the Old Trafford club this summer, despite the plea that manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer made to him, according to reports coming from Brazilian outlet Esporte Interativo. It is suggested that Pereira will be seeking to move to clubs in Spain, Portugal or Germany in search of regular playing time. This season, the Belgian-born Brazilian has made a total of 40 appearances for United, scoring two goals and four assists.
He has played a total of 2,267 minutes of football this season and last featured for United in their 2-1 victory over LASK, playing 26 minutes in that match. He was on the bench against FC Copenhagen, a match that United needed extra time and a penalty to win, but was not involved in the match. In terms of quality, I do not think Pereira has the ability to become a regular starter in the clubs midfield as Bruno Fernandes, Paul Pogba and Nemanja Matic will always be ahead of him. He would be vying with the likes of Fred and Scott McTominay to become fourth choice at the club.
In terms of playing him as a number ten or on the wing, there are players in the squad much better than him with Fernandes, Pogba and Juan Mata more suited to the number ten role and Mason Greenwood and Daniel James more suited on the wing ahead of that, also with Marcus Rashford and Anthony Martial able to play on the wing, it would not put him in the top four players for each position. There have been questions about Pereira’s suitability for United for a long time – he never seems to be able to inspire United much, or become that player that will always pull it out of the bag.
When United signed Fernandes in January, it was suggested that Pereira could head in the other direction, both nothing materialised from that. The player has also been linked to Valencia, a club that he spent time on loan with during the 2017/18 season. Back in April though, Pereira had suggested that he would remain at United to help them win trophies, which is not something that he is going to inspire the club to do by himself, he would be a player carried by the better players at the club, which is not him being the difference, which is needed at the club. Pereira, speaking to the official Manchester United website back then, said:
“Even when I came to United at such a young age, going to United it’s, of course, a massive club, but I know that they are willing to give youth a chance.
“That is what happened with me. Ole knows we will always be there for him. The young players give our faith and do everything to protect him, as he gives all his trust to us.
“I’m very honoured and that’s why, as well, I want to stay at United. I want to fight for him, win games and win trophies.
“Getting there, it’s tough but staying at the top is the most difficult. You can get some stick sometimes. You can get glory days, bad days but the most important thing is to just keep your head down and keep working because at the end of it all if you work hard everything is going to be fine.”
If United are to challenge the likes of Liverpool and Manchester City to contest the Premier League title, the likes of Pereira will need to either leave the club or work much harder to compete at the level that will be needed to win trophies with Manchester United. It might well be a harsh thing to say but it is the truth. The player has underachieved at United and nobody seems to be certain as to what position is his best, even himself. Pereira has made 75 appearances for United, scoring four goals and five assists. The 2019/20 season has seen him play the most football he has for the club, which should leave him feeling happy and ready for the new season, however, he seems to be demanding more or threatening to leave, if this report is true, which is not the best way to be, at leats in my opinion.
Written by John Walker
