Chelsea and Arsenal are reportedly showing interest in Manchester United star Andreas Pereira, who could be available for as little as £10 million in January.
Andreas Pereira has seen first-team minutes hard to come by at Manchester United this season, despite hope early in pre-season. Now, according to Mirror, the Brazilian has emerged as a target for Arsenal and Chelsea, who are looking for a bargain deal to land the talented playmaker.
The interest from Arsenal and Chelsea arrives mostly because of reports that the player could be available for an initial fee as little as £10 million, a figure that could rise depending on the clauses and bonuses inserted during negotiations. The report is plausible, with the Manchester United academy graduate set to enter the last six months of his contract in January.
Andreas Pereira has often been touted to break into the first-team and become a regular. After a bright year on loan at Valencia, the player was retained by Jose Mourinho, despite suggestions that he could go on another loan. Pereira was involved in the first two Premier League games.
But, the midfielder has been on the bench mostly since, amassing a total of 35 minutes in all competitions after the initial couple of league games. With Fred accompanying his compatriot on the bench, Pereira is seemingly behind the summer arrival as well in the pecking order. There is no doubt as to the playmaker’s quality, which is why Arsenal and Chelsea seem interested.
Arsenal seem well stacked in the holding midfield department and are doing well, in general, under Unai Emery. But, what they lack are wingers. And while Andreas Pereira might be a central midfielder, he has played out wide as well during his loan spells at Valencia and Granada.
Chelsea on the other hand, could be in for a midfield revamp, of sorts. Danny Drinkwater looks to be on his way out, with the player not really being given chances by Maurizio Sarri. Another player who could be leaving is Cesc Fabregas, who has not managed to make much of a dent in the trio of Jorginho, N’Golo Kante and Mateo Kovacic.
Andreas Pereira would be in good company, with compatriots David Luiz and Willian already present to help him settle quickly. Also, Sarri’s squad could do with the addition of some flair in midfield.
Andreas Pereira needs to be given more game time, will lead to better results and him wanting to stay with us, otherwise we are going to lose him. Would be an immense stupid decision from Mourinho if he doesn’t and we will lose such a talented good young man. pic.twitter.com/VSLD3u2szW
— Bas (@MxZvGx_) November 21, 2018
While it is true that Pereira’s deal will expire at the end of the 2018-19 campaign, Manchester United and the player both have a one-year extension option available to them. There is still the case of a lack of game time. But, a transfer to either Arsenal or Chelsea is unlikely to rectify the cause.
Either Manchester United or Pereira will most likely activate the one-year extension option. But, it would be interesting to see if interest from Arsenal and Chelsea could spring Manchester United into action, either by handing Pereira some minutes on the pitch or activating the said option.
