Manchester United player might not return to Old Trafford
The arrival of Bruno Fernandes in the January transfer window of 2019 limited the first-team opportunities for many at Manchester United. One of them was Andreas Pereira, who eventually decided to join Serie A club SS Lazio on a season-long loan deal last summer.
Fernandes’ sublime start to life at Old Trafford cemented the Portuguese playmaker’s spot right away in Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s regular starting XI. And with Donny van de Beek also brought in from Ajax in the summer, it was clear that playing time could be limited for Pereira.
As a result, he moved to Italy in search of regular minutes on the pitch and to fulfil his potential. Unfortunately, the Brazilian has failed to impress for Lazio. But he could end up staying in the Seria A despite that.
According to a report from ESPN, Andreas Pereira, even if Lazio don’t make his loan deal permanent next summer, is unlikely to return to Old Trafford. Two Seria A clubs in the form of Napoli and Atalanta are interested in the 25-year-old playmaker according to the report. He is also believed to be happy to remain in Italy.
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Despite making 24 appearances this season with Lazio, he has only featured for 597 minutes. Even then, he has managed to register 1 goal and 3 assists, which is not bad considering that is a goal contribution every 149 minutes or so.
While Lazio do have an option to make the loan deal permanent, they are naturally reluctant to do so.
On the other hand, Manchester United now have Fernandes, Van de Beek and Pogba in their creative midfield ranks. Considering the intense competition in that particular department, it is unlikely that Pereira would get too much playing time at Old Trafford either even if he did end up returning.
Thus, an Old Trafford exit looks very likely in his future although it will be interesting to see where he ultimately ends up.