Manchester United have been reminded of the talent that Andreas Pereira has, as scouts went to watch over Brazilian stars but ended up being impressed by their own player.
Pereira has been on loan at Flamengo this season, and it was likely that the Brazilian was going to be sold this summer. But according to Yahoo Brazil, Erik ten Hag is prepared to give the midfielder one more chance under his new system.
And the Dutchman will be pleased to hear a glowing report from his United scouts, as staff flew out to Brazil to watch over other transfer targets. But Pereira was playing at the time, and stood out as the best player.
According to ESPN, United's scouts were sent to watch 21-year-old midfielder Joao Gomes play for Flamengo, but they were distracted by Pereira who stole the show. The 26-year-old has been at United since 2011, and has been loaned out on a number of occasions as he's struggled to nail down a starting role.
But the loan to Brazil has done him wonders, and with the likes of Paul Pogba. Juan Mata, Jesse Lingard and Nemanja Matic all leaving, space within the squad has opened up. And Ten Hag may give Pereira a huge chance, after impressing scouts.
The 26-year-old midfielder scored the opener and got an assist during their 2-1 over Fluminense, but the player they initially went to view was an unused sub. The Brazilian is desperate for regular first-team football, so will want to make sure that Ten Hag sticks to his word of he is to return to Old Trafford.
Pereira's deal ends at the end of next season, so it appears that the options are pretty simple. Either the Brazilian impresses Ten Hag and earns himself a new deal, or he leaves next summer on a free transfer.
Ten Hag has a major job on his hands to turn United around and get them firing again, but he has already started making a lot of changes. The backroom staff have been refreshed, and many first-team stars have left, with more expected before the spending spree begins.
And it seems as though the remaining United stars are excited for the future, as Diogo Dalot commented on the "fantastic opportunity" they had been given. Dalot told United's official website: "It’s going to be a fantastic opportunity to work with such a great manager.
"His work at Ajax is outstanding. I think everybody falls in love with the attractive football he has played with that Ajax team. I’m sure we are going to be very happy to have him here and to start to work with him.
"Hopefully, like I said, we can finish the [next] season fighting for trophies and being there with hunger and competing with the other teams. But we are going step by step, we’re going to start well and hopefully, next season, can do better than this one."
Like Pereira, Dalot also has one year remaining on his deal, but the Portuguese defender is now seen as the first-choice right-back over Aaron Wan Bissaka. The Englishman has been linked with a move back to Crystal Palace, but no deal has been completed yet.
