Manchester United manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer had a word with the Brazilian media following the win over Atalanta in the Champions League.
Besides speaking about the game, the Red Devils’ boss was also quizzed about a loanee the club has in the South American country, Andreas Pereira. It started with reporter Fred Caldeira asking the coach if he has time to watch the midfielder’s spell at Flamengo.
“Yeah, we follow Andreas, of course we do,” Solskjaer told TNT Sports.
“He’s a very good player, fantastic person. And I’m so happy for him that he’s enjoying it over there. Because for us, it was the point: ‘Andreas, now you go and show how good you are’. I couldn’t give him enough playing time and we know the quality in him. When he has the trust and belief, he’s top quality, so I’m happy for him.”
Quizzed if he’d have liked Andreas to stay, Solskjaer again claimed the player wasn’t having enough minutes at the club.
“You know, at a certain stage of a player’s career, it’s important that you play enough at a high level. Last year, Andreas went on loan, he didn’t play enough. The season before, he played a lot for us, but then we signed Bruno. And I’m happy for him now and I’ll see him soon.”
Finally, Solskjaer was asked if he’d like the midfielder to return to Old Trafford.
“Of course. When he keeps on playing like he can do, at his best level, he’s a top player.”
Andreas Pereira made 40 appearances for Manchester United in the 2019/20 season, but was less used following Bruno Fernandes’ arrival in the middle of the season. During his loan at Lazio, he had 33 games, most of them as a substitute, and a permanent move wasn’t even considered.
Now at Flamengo, despite a good start, he’ll need to show a lot to convince the Rio de Janeiro side to spend €20m, the buying clause, on his signing. The club would need to break their transfer record for that, and for the past week the Brazilian media has been pointing out that to buy Pereira, they would need to spend more than Manchester United did when purchasing Cristiano Ronaldo from Juventus this summer.
