When you see a young Brazilian midfielder signing for a club in the English Championship, naturally eyebrows will be raised. So when West Bromwich Albion brought in tricky and creative Brazilian midfielder Matheus Pereira last year, there were some obvious questions to be asked. How good can he be if he ends up in the English second tier?
After a year of destroying defences in the league, it’s safe to say that Pereira is very good. In fact, he could be one of the true surprises of the 2020-21 Premier League campaign if West Brom can keep on attacking.
What makes him so special?
It’s hard to pinpoint one thing in particular, but it’s easy to say that Pereira is the livewire in the Baggies team. The Brazilian laid on a whopping 16 assists last year whilst producing 8 goals in the league. It’s a fantastic return for a player playing his first year in the English game.
Having enjoyed terrorising defences with his aggressive style and his tremendous artillery of tricks, flicks, passes and dribbles, it’s fair to say that there is ample excitement around the youngster. Always seen as a precocious talent, he is now making good on the kind of praise that has come his way regularly over the last few years.
Pereira has one major issue, though; he might struggle with the physicality of the top flight. Though strong enough for the second tier, there are some concerns that he might go to ground a bit too easy in the Premier League. So long as he can handle the physicality, though, there is absolutely no doubting Pereira when it comes to his technical talent or his feet. Without doubt, he’s one of the most interesting attacking talents coming into the 20-21 Premier League season.