Flamengo’s pursuit for Manchester United midfielder Andreas Pereira continues to be a big topic in Brazil’s sports media, and a couple of more updates are doing the rounds in the local media today.
There’s first a story from O Dia, where journalist Venê Casagrande says there’s ‘confidence’ from the Rio de Janeiro side that the deal will be closed.
Flamengo’s official bid was placed at the weekend, and that’s for a loan with an option to buy. The ‘bigger problem’, for now, is the player’s salary, since Manchester United don’t want to keep paying for it.
It’s said the Red Devils’ staff do not have Pereira in their plans, and didn’t even include him in the matchday squad for the friendly against Burnley this week.
O Dia also quotes Flamengo’s vice-president of football Marcos Braz saying: “The negotiation is not as advanced as they are saying”.
However, in an interview with Paparazzo Rubro Negro (via UOL), Braz claimed the talks have been advancing, making it clear that Flamengo have a chance of landing the Manchester United midfielder.
“It was a name that was hidden all the time, it didn’t come out anywhere, people didn’t even know we were doing this. It’s in the same situation as Kenedy: we have until the 28th, he’s a player from a great club, one of the biggest in Europe. We hope to have the same success.”
“The negotiations are underway. There is always a problem, some point that sticks, especially at a very high level of player like this, with 25, 26 years, maybe at his peak. We are happy to be in this attempt to sign him.”
