Reports: Manchester United star set to join Valencia on loan

What's the story?

It was expected that Andreas Pereira's efforts at Granada would earn him a place in Mourinho's plans.

But unfortunately, United have upgraded their squad and according to The Sun, Valencia have reached an agreement with United to take the 21-year-old on a season long loan.

Pereira, who was impressive last season while on loan at Granada, will return to Spain once again and strut his stuff in La Liga.

In case you didn't know...

Andreas Pereira featured in Manchester United's pre-season matches, but was played out of his position. He was deployed as a holding midfielder by Jose Mourinho, who didn't have a replacement for Michael Carrick in the center.

Mourinho bought Nemanja Matic to fill that void.

Henrikh Mkhitaryan and Juan Mata have been highly effective for Manchester United and Pereira will find it difficult to get much more than cameo appearances in cup fixtures.

Mourinho is using Marcus Rashford and Anthony Martial alternatively on the left wing and both of them are in fine form. So as of now, Pereira is surplus to requirement at Old Trafford.

The heart of the matter

Jose Mourinho has told Pereira that he cannot guarantee him first team action. In fact, Pereira didn't even feature in the squads for any of United's first 3 matches against West Ham, Swansea City or Leicester City.

Brazilian Pereira is immensely talented and could prove to be a mainstay at United in the future. Mourinho will send him on loan as that is in everyone's best interests.

Pereira should have no trouble securing a starting spot in the Valencia squad. The La Liga outfit that finished 12th in the 2016-17 campaign will definitely benefit from the presence of a player as skilled as Pereira.

Pereira scored 5 times in 37 appearances for a struggling Granada side that got relegated at the end of the season. He was constantly a live wire in attack for them and occasionally provided the creative spark which was gravely lacking in most of their uninspiring performances.

Video

Author's Take

Pereira is a sprightly presence on the pitch and it's a pity that he can't get first team action at Manchester United. His wide passing range and quick pair of feet had wowed the fans during the pre-season friendlies. But the deal is a win-win for both teams.

However, it would have, perhaps, been ideal if he was loaned out to a Premier League club because ultimately to secure a spot in United's XI in the next season, Pereira will have to prove that he is ready to meet the physical demands of English football.