Manchester United midfielder Andreas Pereira will leave the Old Trafford club to play for Brazilian side Santos, which is supposedly a ‘dream mover’ for the player, according to reports. It is already expected that the 24-year-old could leave the club at the end of the season with Ole Gunnar Solskjaer seeking to continue his rebuild of the club.
Pereira has not really lived up to expectation at the club during his career with some fans bigging up the player’s ability, yet not seeing anything near to that coming from him. The player has made a total of 37 appearances for United this season, scoring two goals, assisting a further four but if it was not for injuries, he might not have played much at all.
It has been reported that Solskjaer could sell up to five players this summer, including Pereira, Chris Smalling, Phil Jones, Alexis Sanchez and Jesse Lingard. During the season, when Pereira has started, some have wondered what he has done to warrant a place in the team, let alone on the pitch. Personally, the sooner he has been sold, the better.
It seems clear that Santos are interested in Pereira, especially in the fact the player has talked about the club on occasion, possibly trying to get noticed by the club so a deal could be struck. Club President, Jose Carlos Peres has been in contact with the player via WhatsApp, according to reports by Gazeta Esportiva. Peres was quoted as saying:
“I have Andreas Pereira on WhatsApp and I have been talking to him. He’s done well at Manchester United. He will certainly the wear the club’s [Santos] shirt one day.
“He is a player that interests us a lot. He is a santista and wants to play for Santos. The family is trying. His father wants to see him at Santos for at least a year.”
United signed Pereira from PSV Einndhoven back in 2011 with the player joining United’s academy, graduating and making his debut with the club in 2014. The 24-year-old has made 72 appearances for United first team, scoring four goals and five assists in that time, also playing for Granada (37 appearances, five goals and three assists) and Valencia (29 appearances, one goal and five assists) on loan.
Pereira’s contract at United will expire in the summer of 2023, but there is an option for a further year to be added, so Santos, if interested, will have to pay a transfer fee for the player, unless United released him as a free agent, which would be costly for the club. He might also want to fight for his place at the club, which might not be the best decision for him.
Currently, Paul Pogba, Bruno Fernandes, Fred, Scott McTominay, and Nemanja Matic are ahead of Pereira in the pecking order at the Old Trafford club. Then you have the likes of James Garner and Dylan Levitt who are performing at a high level in the U23s and seeking a chance to show what they can do in the first team, if in fact they are not loaned out next season, which would be ideal for the duo.
This would leave Pereira in sixth place in midfield, possibly seventh or eighth place and with the form of Fernandes at this moment in time, plus knowing what Pogba is capable of, should he stay at United, these two are most likely to be playing together in midfield, possibly with one other of Fred, McTominay or Matic. Pereira might not play much at all. This is certainly a big decision for him to make and it would be best for him to leave United, in my opinion.
