Manchester United is a football club that can throw money around without blinking. Part of what completes their brand is the names that play for them and paying big money for those names.
Their recent pursuit of Inter Milan’s Ivan Perisic – a sophisticated winger with the ability to bring true width to the Red Devils – has failed so far, with the Nerazzurri holding out for a fee in the region of £50m.
In a transfer window that has already seen United spend more than £100m on two players, there is reason for manager Jose Mourinho and executive vice-chairman Ed Woodward to not become desperate when it comes to their chase of the 28-year-old Croatian.
That reason is Andreas Pereira.
The 21-year-old Belgian-born Brazilian is another product of United’s prestigious academy, which in recent years has given football the likes of Marcus Rashford, Jesse Lingard, and Paul Pogba.
The talented playmaker – who can play left, centre or right in an attacking three – has recently come back to Old Trafford after a season-long loan in La Liga with Granada CF, where he shone in a team full of relegation fodder.
Pereira was Granada’s joint top goal scorer with five, as well as providing three assists and recording two Man of the Match performances as he battled to make a name for himself in a team of players who were – quite frankly – playing at a level below his ability.
Creative spark. 👌
Pereira’s desire to go on loan over another season in the academy combined with a flutter of first team cameos highlights the youngster’s dedication to his United career.
The desire to go to an alien league to prove his ability to Mourinho is evidence of the maturity that has come to Pereira with time.
After all, talent only gets you so far, as the case of Adnan Januzaj proves.
The former boy wonder looked like the next superstar under former United manager David Moyes – so much so that he inherited Ryan Giggs’ famous No. 11 jersey – yet this summer has seen him sold to Spanish side Real Sociedad for less than £10m after a terrible season on loan at Sunderland. The Manchester Evening News previously described him as having 'no desire to work' after being sent to the reserves under Moyes’ successor, Louis van Gaal.
Speaking about Pereira last summer, former Manchester United youth team coach Paul McGuinness told Sky Sports: “(Andreas) has the belief and the ego to be a top player – and, importantly, the talent to go with it. He's got the running power too. But he must learn how to fit into the team and be a team player. It's just a case of putting it together and knowing how to play your role in the team.”
We’re now seeing Pereira’s dedication to progressing from a talent full of ‘belief and ego’ and into a player who wants to be entrenched into the first team collective.
Pereira has grown on and off the pitch where his former teammate Adnan Januzaj sank and with only one year left on his Manchester United contract, the tricky playmaker knows it could well be a case of now or never.
There is hope and reason to believe that Mourinho has recognised Pereira’s progress and will trust his man if required. On the club’s pre-season tour of the USA, Pereira has been rewarded with the No.15 jersey – previously worn by former United captain Nemanja Vidic – an indication that his position within the first-team is more ingrained from the previous No.44 that he sported.
His tour playing time has also been generous in a team that boasts Paul Pogba, Juan Mata, Henrikh Mkhitaryan, Jesse Lingard, and Anthony Martial all competing to start in an attacking midfield set-up behind Romelu Lukaku or Marcus Rashford.
The fans and manager show belief in their man – and Manchester United has always trusted in its youth. Last season 44,055 minutes of Premier League football were played by United academy products – a number unbeaten by any other academy.
Pereira is the latest to have grafted for an opportunity that should be rewarded, whether or not further big names arrive at The Theatre of Dreams this summer. He has earned his chance, now let him play.
