Not a lot of players left Manchester United on a permanent basis this summer. Instead most of them departed the club on loan in order to gain more experience. Andreas Pereira was one such player, who was not expected to get a lot of playing time at Old Trafford and will spend the season with Flamengo instead.
Pereira spent the previous season on loan at Lazio, and it was not a great one for the midfielder. According to stats from Transfermarkt, the Brazilian international played only 801 minutes of football across 33 appearances through the course of the season.
He made the majority of his appearances off the bench and could not break into the Italian side’s starting XI on a consistent basis. Thus, it was not much of a surprise when he was back at Old Trafford in the summer despite Lazio having an option to buy included in his loan deal.
Rumours had suggested that Manchester United were open to letting him leave on a permanent basis this summer but after such a move failed to materialise, he was sent on loan to Flamengo. And that move has worked out very well for Pereira.
Solskjaer has praised the Manchester United loanee after a brilliant start at Flamengo
Pereira has enjoyed a career revival at Flamengo and looks like a completely different player, earning plaudits for his displays for the Brazilian club. And it looks like Solskjaer has taken notice as well.
As reported by the Mirror, Solskjaer told TNT Sports:
"“Yeah, we follow Andreas, of course we do.“He’s a very good player, fantastic person. And I’m so happy for him that he’s enjoying it over there. Because for us, it was the point: ‘Andreas, now you go and show how good you are’.“I couldn’t give him enough playing time and we know the quality in him. When he has the trust and belief, he’s top quality, so I’m happy for him.”"
The most interesting aspect of Pereira’s good form for Flamengo has been the fact that he has shined in a deeper role in midfield and that could open up a lot of possibilities for him in the future.
Can he return to Manchester United in the future and make his mark? That remains to be seen but for the time being, it is brilliant to see him doing so well at Flamengo and hopefully he will continue to do so.