Andreas Pereira has officially signed for Fulham from Manchester United for an "undisclosed fee" after 10 years at the club.
Andreas was signed for a fee of £135k from Dutch club PSV Eindhoven back on 1 Janaury 2012, a date which also happens to be his birthday, when the player had literally just turned 15 years old.
He has now decided that it’s time to move on and find a new club to call a permanent home, and has found that in newly promoted Fulham.
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Speaking on the move, Pereira said: “I’m very happy to be here and I can’t wait to start the season with Fulham.
“I want to help Fulham as much as I can to be where they belong. Marco Silva was very important for this. I spoke a lot with him, and he was a key factor in me being here.”
When he signed, Pereira spent a season and a half playing for Manchester United’s U18s squad, before eventually graduating to the side’s U21’s at the end of the 12/13 season.
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Then, after a further two seasons with the U21’s, Andreas Pereira became more integrated with the first team squad. He made his senior debut in late August 2014 in an infamously embarrassing 4-0 defeat to Milton Keynes Dons in the second round of the League Cup, and later that season in March 2015 he debuted in the Premier League, coming on as a substitute for Juan Mata in the 77th minute of a 3-0 victory over Tottenham Hotspur.
In the 15/16 season, Pereira began having slightly more impact on the first team, starting his first competitive fixture for the club against Ipswich Town, where he in fact scored a free-kick to secure a 3-0 victory.
He then spent the following season on loan at Granada, where he scored five goals and registered three assists in 37 appearances for the club. This was the first of four loan moves he would embark on throughout his career in Manchester.
When he came back to England, many fans were excited to see what Andreas could bring to the table for Jose Mourinho’s side. However, after spending pre-season with the squad, he decided he wanted another loan move and chose to head back to Spain, this time in the form of Valencia CF.
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His Valencia loan was much less successful than his time at Granada, scoring one solitary goal for the side, in October. Admittedly, the goal was a belting strike against Real Betis, however it was effectively the only highlight of his season there.
The 2018/19 season was Andreas Pereira’s most successful in a Manchester United shirt, mainly because of the goal he scored in a brilliant 3-2 win over Southampton. Lining the ball up from around 25-yards out, Pereira curled the ball right into the back of the Stretford end net to score what was eventually voted as the club’s Goal of the Season.
He stayed with the squad for a further season, and after loan moves to Lazio and Brazilian side Flamengo in the 20/21 and 21/22 seasons respectively, he has now decided to leave the club on a permanent move to Fulham.
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Andreas’ career at Manchester United will always just be a series of “what if” questions. It is undeniable that he is a talented footballer, but for whatever reason, he never really competed to try for a first team spot in the squad.
Having made 75 appearances for the club, only scoring four goals and registering five assists over the course of his career is not a great return for an attacking midfielder – however part of that can go down to inconsistent chances and a number of appearances as a substitute.
One match he started that he will surely never forget is ‘that night’ in Paris.
Starting as part of a depleted XI that had to make up for a two goal deficit from the home leg at Old Trafford, the squad won 3-1 against PSG at the Parc Des Princes to send them through to the Champions League quarter-finals.
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Overcoming a 2 goal deficit away from home in the Champions League knockout stage had never been seen before and has not been seen since Marcus Rashford stepped up to take that penalty.
Pereira has often been dubbed as 'pre-season Pirlo' by fans, due to the fact he would often perform brilliantly in pre-season with the club before ultimately either going on loan or simply not living up to expectations during the competitive period.
Pereira’s fee mostly covers the cost of the signings of Tyrell Malacia and Christian Eriksen, which can be viewed as good business by United.
They are looking to sign Lisandro Martinez from Ajax, although are having trouble agreeing on a fee with the Dutch club – although the player himself is reportedly ready to refuse to train in order to force a move.
Frenkie de Jong is another name heavily linked with the side, but complications over player priorities, price negotiations and £17 million in owed wages is making the deal incredibly hard to complete.
Featured Image Credit: Fulham FCTopics: Manchester United, Manchester United Transfer News & Rumours, Andreas Pereira, Fulham, Football, Transfers