Andreas Pereira loaned to Flamengo with no obligation to buy

Manchester United midfielder Andreas Pereira is joining Brazilian club Flamengo on loan for the 2021/22 season. There is no obligation to buy for Flamengo, but there is reportedly and option to buy at the end of the loan deal, valued at around €15-20 million. No obligation is unfortunate for United, who have been trying to sell Pereira for some time, but it does get some of his wages off the book with the clubs agreeing to split them.

The 25 year old Brazilian is hoping to find some regular playing time before national teams are selected for the 2022 FIFA World Cup in Qatar, but he has a lot to prove before earning that call up.

Pereira’s chance at earning a spot at United came and went over the 2018/19 and 2019/20 seasons, in which he failed to impress as a holding midfielder or as an attacking midfielder. He was given a spell on loan to Lazio for the 2020/21 Serie A season, but there he similarly failed to reach the heights, starting only a handful of matches.

It has been well documented that United are in search of another first team quality midfielder in the transfer market, but were hoping to offload Jesse Lingard and Andreas Pereira before adding another player’s wages to the books. Now it seems even more unlikely to happen this window, and Pereira’s extended stay at the club shows the cost of offering long term contracts to players on the fringes of the first team.