Manchester United
A Closer Look at Andreas Pereira, the Signing from PSV
By
Yoosof Farah
(Featured Columnist) on November 8, 2011


A super-talented attacking midfielder, 15-year-old Andreas Pereira has confirmed his transfer from PSV Eindhoven to Manchester United.

He said: "I knew that PSV had given me my chance, but Manchester United is obviously a great club."

"Other British clubs were interested. I thought about it, but Manchester United is a dream club for me. I have been a few times to Manchester United to have a look."

"I got a tour and spoke with Sir Alex Ferguson. Being a 15-year-old and being able to talk with him is great!"

As has been well-documented, the youngster is said to be one of the best young players in Europe, but that's all that has been reported.

So what else is there to know about Pereira? A Brazilian-born Belgium U16 International, Pereira is a player in the Paul Scholes mould.

He has remarkable technical ability for a player of his age and even better ability with the ball than a lot of players at the U19 level and perhaps higher.

His touch and ability to control the ball is very good, while his ability to pluck the ball out of the air is reminiscent of a young Gonzalo Higuain or Dimitar Berbatov.

Pereira is also good at dribbling, but like his future United teammate Nani (especially in the Portugal winger's younger years), he can overstep the mark a bit too frequently.

Where he really excels running with the ball is in his ability to retain possession under pressure in an almost Xavi Hernandez type of manner.

Make Up Your Own Mind On Andreas Pereira

In terms of his passing—one of the main reasons he's so coveted—Pereira is like a young Scholes or Xavi in his vision. He seems able to pick out the run of almost any teammate, and more often than not is accurate with his pass.

His one problem is that he does prefer to seek out the Hollywood pass when better, easier options are available, but that's understandable for a young player who's looking to impress.

In terms of his shooting, he has a decent long-range shot on him, but he does lack the accuracy to be a world-class midfield finisher, so it may be a while before he scores a Frank Lampard number of goals from the middle.

Defensively, he offers a good eye for the interception. Being a player who's always on the lookout for where to play the next pass, Pereira has good ability to read his opposite number's game, and he uses that well to make some key interceptions.

Tackling-wise he isn't the best, again like Paul Scholes, but that isn't really part of his role anyway, so it doesn't matter too much.

Overall, he is a player who definitely fits in with the Manchester United way of playing, and if his performances up until now are anything to go by, Andreas Pereira is a player with huge potential and perhaps an even bigger re-sale value.



Andreas Pereira Rating

Shooting: 7/10

Passing: 9/10

Tackling: 4/10

Vision: 8/10

Heading: 6/10

Dribbling: 7/10

Technique: 10/10

Potential: 10/10

Potential Transfer Value: £40 million