On Tuesday night, Manchester United eased to victory over San José Earthquakes 3-1 in the second game of United’s US Tour. Among those who impressed on the night was 19-year-old Brazilian starlet, Andreas Pereira, who scored a very clever header following a neat cross from fellow youngster, Jesse Lingard.
Pereira’s stock has continued to rise over the course of the last 12-18 months amongst fans, especially after he signed a new deal with Manchester United last season, amid reported interest from Juventus. Since then, fans have sought for the young Brazilian to get more game time under Louis van Gaal in the Premier League and, if the pre-season tour is anything to go by, their wait may be over.
The extent of how much Pereira has impressed was seen when Van Gaal decided to bring him on in the number ten role, a very important and high pressure position for a youngster to play in. Thankfully, Pereira did not seem out of place; he demonstrated pace and positivity against the Earthquakes, capped off by that aforementioned goal.
The Brazilian impressed earlier this summer when he played with the Brazilian U20 side at the World Cup. Despite not winning the competition in the end, Pereira was very impressive and influential, especially in the final against Serbia in which he scored a wonderful solo goal. Ultimately, Serbia beat Brazil, yet that did not stop Pereira from showcasing his obvious ability.
He has picked up where he has left off this summer so far, though, thus also re-gaining the momentum he established at the Manchester U21s. It was with the U21s that Pereira pitched himself as a possible future star.
As for next season, the only person who can answer the question of what we can expect from the 19-year-old is Van Gaal. The Dutchman has frequently said that he likes to give young players chances and there is no young player – apart from James Wilson, perhaps – who deserves more of a chance with the first team than Andreas Pereira. It will be expected that he gets more exposure with the first team next season, despite the probability that most of that exposure will be from the bench.
One thing is for certain, if he continues to perform at the level that he has been, fans should be looking forward to the Brazilian challenging Ashley Young for that spot on the left-side of Manchester United’s attack.
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