Louis van Gaal doesn’t like to laud a young talent too early. He famously deflected the attention away from Anthony Martial, and brought even more pressure on his own broad shoulders, when he said of the Frenchman’s signing:
“Yes I spend a lot of money on Martial – but I buy him for my successor, Ryan Giggs.”
So it was with great interest that we saw LvG name checking another superb young talent, Andreas Pereira, this week.
When asked about whether his current crop of youngsters was comparable to his 1995 Champions League winners, he said:
…of course you can compare Martial with Kluivert. You can do that. Because Kluivert was also a fantastic, athletic figure and scored goals right from the beginning. But you can’t compare the periods or the pressure in the game.
… the rhythm of the game is much higher so the time and the space you have to create as a player to decide is much shorter so much more difficult.
“That’s why I have to say that you cannot compare generations like Davids or Kluivert with Martial or Pereira.”
So many talented youngsters never make the grade at Manchester United. Even Adnan Januzaj has gone out on loan to gain the requisite experience to play for the club.
But we have to say that Andreas Pereira has a better chance than most because he ticks so many boxes.
Pereira: Ready for first team action
He obviously has the instinctive talent to play for an elite club. But he also has wonderful application and commitment.
This is a player who desperately wants to make the grade and has the attitude to go with the natural gifts.
He’s already physically strong for a 19 year old. He’s quick and brave and has a great engine. Furthermore, he can play on the right of the front three – an area which is currently occupied by Juan Mata but an area which has precious little depth in the squad.
If Pereira keeps his head down and works hard, we can easily see him making 15 to 20 appearances for United this season.
Indeed, with more natural pace than Mata, he may even be knocking on the door for a starting place in the first team before long.
Let’s see some of his better moments. Manchester United fans: Mata or Pereira?
