Lazio rule out permanent move for Man Utd loanee Pereira

James Holland
Andreas Pereira Man Utd

Man Utd will have to find a new suitor for Andreas Pereira after Lazio reportedly pulled out of the race to sign him.

Pereira is currently on loan with the Italian side in an attempt to get his career back on track.

He’s made 15 appearances so far this campaign, scoring one goal.


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According to the Daily Star, Lazio are unlikely to active their buy-out option to sign Pereira this summer.

They’re unwilling to spend £24.5million on a player who is known to be unreliable when it comes to form.

Man Utd were hoping that Lazio would sign Pereira to get him off their books.

The player has been deemed surplus to requirements by manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer.

He did make plenty of appearances at Old Trafford last season but failed to prove his worth.

In September, reports suggested that Lazio had already decided to buy Pereira from United at the end of his loan.

It seems they have changed their minds after monitoring the Brazilian’s form over the past few months.

Pereira hasn’t scored since a 1-0 victory over Torino back in November.

The player has also failed to feature for a full 90 minutes since December. He is mainly being used as a substitute by Lazio boss Simone Inzaghi.

The system Inzaghi plays doesn’t tend to suit Pereira, who normally operates as an attacking midfielder.

Lazio prefer to play with two strikers and three central midfielders, including former Liverpool man Lucas Leiva.

Pereira is thought to be growing frustrated with his lack of playing time. It’s not clear where his long-term future lies.

The 25-year-old will not be able to fight his way back into the United team considering the form of Bruno Fernandes.

Solskjaer can also play Juan Mata and Donny van de Beek in attacking midfield, giving Pereira pretty much no chance.

The player’s contract expires in June so the Red Devils could let him leave for free at the end of the season.