Andreas Pereira starred for Manchester United against Leicester and looks ready to play a big role this season, writes Adam Bate.
It was Luke Shaw who took the man-of-the-match award for Manchester United against Leicester last week after scoring his first senior goal. But Jose Mourinho could not let his post-match interview pass without offering a word of praise for another United youngster.
“I don’t want to leave you without saying Andreas Pereira,” Mourinho told Sky Sports. “He is a right-winger at Valencia that spent the season on the bench. From the bench at Valencia as a right-winger he comes to Old Trafford as the No 6 and played a phenomenal match.”
Pereira was excellent against Leicester. He may be used to playing in a more advanced role but the defensive side of his game was impressive. On his full Premier League debut, he made five interceptions and recovered possession of the ball 11 times – both of which were better numbers than anyone else on the pitch. Only Juan Mata covered more ground.
But it was Pereira’s passing that added a new dimension. In his interpretation of the holding role, he was willing and able to play the more ambitious ball as well as the simple one, and was the only United player to pass to each of the other 10 men in the starting line-up. It is difficult to imagine Marouane Fellaini or Scott McTominay make it all look so easy.
There is a back story to this, of course. Mourinho’s reference to Pereira’s time on the bench during his season-long loan spell at Valencia is a pointed one – an allusion to the fact that the United manager never wanted the Brazilian to leave Old Trafford in the first place.
“It was a personal decision that I don’t agree with, a decision I don’t think honestly is the best decision for him, a decision that disappoints me,” he said at the time. “He has the potential to be fighting for a position, opportunities and to be a Manchester United player.
“His decision can be considered a young player who wants to play every weekend but also a young player that is not ready to fight for something difficult and it’s difficult to play in Manchester United’s midfield. But it was his decision and I opened the door. He has a long-term contract, it is not a drama, but is a decision which disappoints me a little bit.”