Until the last month, Andreas Pereira could be lumped in with the six Man United players on the verge of leaving.
United agreed an £8.5 million fee with Flamengo in February, where Pereira was also on loan since August. However, it was revealed in April that Man United football director John Murtough had notified Pereira that he could be part of Erik ten Hag’s squad next season.
Pereira will not have managed to play for Manchester United in two years when the 2022-23 season begins. He is also out of contract next year, but the club has the option of extending his contract for another year.
Pereira, 26, was a standout performer for Flamengo, but his gaffe in Flamengo’s Copa Libertadores final loss to Palmeiras has changed fans’ perceptions of the playmaker.
Flamengo’s financial situation is also precarious. According to Brazilian sources, the club was denied television revenue last month during discussions with the Brazilian government over loans used to fund the club’s recruitment of European-based players.
Flamengo’s sporting director, Marcos Braz, stated last month that the club was not in a rush to make Andreas’s transfer permanent: “We have the agreement with him until July 30, so we must maintain our cool. It’s not like tomorrow is approaching.”
Apart from the anticipated departures of Paul Pogba, Jese Lingard, Juan Mata, Nemanja Matic, and Edinson Cavani, United are still willing to sell Pereira for £8.5 million, and his playing chances at his home club are bleak.
If Pereira returns to United in August, he will miss the entire preseason calendar in Thailand and Australia, with yet another friendly in Oslo expected to be confirmed. On August 6, the Premier League season begins.
United plan to bring in a midfielder and a striker, with architect Ralf Rangnick insisting on two strikers. Pereira prefers to play as a playmaker, but he has only made one appearance for United since Bruno Fernandes joined from Sporting Lisbon in January 2020.
Pereira spent two years in a row on loan at Granada and Valencia in Spain under Jose Mourinho prior to actually joining Lazio in 2020-21.
Ten Hag used to be the assistant coach at PSV Eindhoven when Pereira agreed to join Manchester United at the age of 15 in November 2011. On January 1, 2012, Pereira’s 16th birthday, he officially joined Man United.
