Joel Pereira may be on loan away from Manchester United, at Portuguese club Belenenses, but his absolute aim remains to succeed at his parent club.
Pereira has made it clear that he doesn’t simply intend to give up his Manchester United ambitions, and despite how difficult the task of becoming the club’s goalkeeper would be, it’s something he’s looking toward.
Speaking to Portuguese newspaper O Jogo, Pereira was asked about returning to his Premier League club, and he couldn’t have made himself clearer: “My dream is to play for Manchester United, I want to go back, of course. I appreciate the opportunity at Belenenses and to play, learn and evolve as much as possible. I intend to go step by step.”
There are a lot of steps between being on loan at Belenenses and then getting into the Manchester United team, especially with David De Gea and Sergio Romero at the club.
The first step Pereira has taken is getting into the Portuguese club’s starting eleven, and he’s been putting some good performances in, which he’ll hope can continue and catch the eye of his parent club.
Should Romero decide to leave in search of first team football then Pereira may well have a chance next season from the bench, if he does very well in Portugal. Argentina’s recent struggles have led to much criticism in the country’s media, and Romero’s place could be under threat eventually, given the lack of football he plays.
