[Red Hand Devil]

Will be interesting to monitor his and Januzaj's progress this season. Wonder if either will go on loan. Wouldn't be surprised to see him surpass Januzaj in the pecking order of best young talent at the club.

Adnan's lost a lot of momentum from a couple of seasons ago & he doesnt seem to have gathered any aggression / determination, either.

He's a soft-touch for the opposition in the physicality stakes & he seems to get psyched out by it all - even in a football world that has ref's protecting the special players..

 

[beergod]

The thing that impressed me most last night is that Blackett was diabolical going forward and Pereira still had a good performance. It will be interesting to see how effective he is with a better player going forward behind him if he we continue playing him on the left.

 

[Invictus]

We should use Pereira as an alternate in the midfield three, and build an in-house succession plan for the future. Carrick is no spring chicken, and Bastian will likely leave at the end of his contract, so Andreas should get a lot of game-time as the latter's long term replacement as the prime mover of the team, especially when Carrick starts to fade. He has a lot of qualities that lend themselves to a midfield architect role, rather than a more attacking one further up the pitch (where the competition might prove to be even higher with the presence of Memphis, Mata, Di Maria, Januzaj + probable future additions).

He already has a great eye for the defense splitting pass, knows when to keep the ball and when to play the one touch football, knows how to dribble effectively from deeper areas, likes to get stuck in and doesn't shy away from tackles; the touch and precision while good is still a bit inconsistent, but will develop further over time with experience and proper training. In some ways he's like a younger, less refined version of someone like Deco who could go either way.

If we could train him under Schweinsteiger, bring him along at a slow pace considering his age, and teach him how to control the rhythm of the game (something Bastian learnt in greater detail under Van Gaal himself), then Pereira has all the talent to be a special central midfielder for the club, and will start coming into his own at age 22 by the time Bastian packs up his bags at United. Perhaps Louis could completely Schweinsteigrize him under the guidance of the prototype himself ?

 

[Brightonian]

The thing that impressed me most last night is that Blackett was diabolical going forward and Pereira still had a good performance.

Was he? Didn't see that myself. Not sure I can think of a single memorable error or loss of the ball going forward. He linked up neatly enough with Pereira when he needed to... it's just that he didn't bother going forward much.

Agree that it'd be interesting to see Pereira in front of Shaw, who will always look to overlap at pace.

 

[Gerald G]

He has great ability. He can play brilliant as a central midfielder, a number 10 and out-wide. I hope he stays in the first team and look forward to seeing him more on the tour.

 

[Ekeke]

Played well, good to see him taking his chance now he's signed his contract

 

[Trizy]

How did he do? I read an awful lot of comments on other sites about him basically nailed on to be world class in the future.

 

[Igor Drefljak]

I'd love to see him loaned out in the prem. Him and Januzaj need games to improve and get some consistent games at a high level

With potentially Depay and Young on the left and Di Maria and Mata on the right, and depth in midfield, their game time could be limited.
A full year of playing would do them a world of good, prove they can do it, and then next year we shall see

 

[Stack]

How did he do? I read an awful lot of comments on other sites about him basically nailed on to be world class in the future.

Nailed on no. Possible? yes.

 

[beergod]

Was he? Didn't see that myself. Not sure I can think of a single memorable error or loss of the ball going forward. He linked up neatly enough with Pereira when he needed to... it's just that he didn't bother going forward much.

Agree that it'd be interesting to see Pereira in front of Shaw, who will always look to overlap at pace.

The only thing Blackett contributed was a passing outlet who would recycle possession when Pereira ran out of space. He didn't do anything else to support Pereira.

 

[ZDwyr]

I haven't seen a lot of him but he isn't really a left winger is he? I was under the impression he was a CM/AM, interesting that LvG played him wider. Although could be similar to the way Mata plays the wide role.

 

[Kill 'em all]

I haven't seen a lot of him but he isn't really a left winger is he? I was under the impression he was a CM/AM, interesting that LvG played him wider. Although could be similar to the way Mata plays the wide role.

He's very versatile. Plays on the wing, as a number 10, as a central midfielder and performs all roles at an exceptional level for the U 21s.

 

[DWelbz19]

We should use Pereira as an alternate in the midfield three, and build an in-house succession plan for the future. Carrick is no spring chicken, and Bastian will likely leave at the end of his contract, so Andreas should get a lot of game-time as the latter's long term replacement as the prime mover of the team, especially when Carrick starts to fade. He has a lot of qualities that lend themselves to a midfield architect role, rather than a more attacking one further up the pitch (where the competition might prove to be even higher with the presence of Memphis, Mata, Di Maria, Januzaj + probable future additions).

He already has a great eye for the defense splitting pass, knows when to keep the ball and when to play the one touch football, knows how to dribble effectively from deeper areas, likes to get stuck in and doesn't shy away from tackles; the touch and precision while good is still a bit inconsistent, but will develop further over time with experience and proper training. In some ways he's like a younger, less refined version of someone like Deco who could go either way.

If we could train him under Schweinsteiger, bring him along at a slow pace considering his age, and teach him how to control the rhythm of the game (something Bastian learnt in greater detail under Van Gaal himself), then Pereira has all the talent to be a special central midfielder for the club, and will start coming into his own at age 22 by the time Bastian packs up his bags at United. Perhaps Louis could completely Schweinsteigrize him under the guidance of the prototype himself ?

I get a bit of a Thiago vibe when I see Pereira. He even has all the cute flicks and tricks, and in the last 12 months has really learned when to utilise them.

 

[Raoul]

I get a bit of a Thiago vibe when I see Pereira. He even has all the cute flicks and tricks, and in the last 12 months has really learned when to utilise them.

Yes, i do as well.

 

[Nickosaur]

Strange that he went (and maybe it's just me) kind of under the radar last season, bar some nice moments in the reserves and a few appearances for the first team. When I saw the goal he scored in the U20 World Cup final it reaffirmed that this is one of the biggest prospects in world football. Think he will get a lot more opportunities this season and I can't wait to see how he does.

 

[::sonny::]

He should have chances to play, no reasons to sign someone like Pedro disappeard since 2011

 

[Ekeke]

I haven't seen a lot of him but he isn't really a left winger is he? I was under the impression he was a CM/AM, interesting that LvG played him wider. Although could be similar to the way Mata plays the wide role.

He certainly looked as comfortable as Young out there which is promising

 

[El-Manos]

Strange that he went (and maybe it's just me) kind of under the radar last season, bar some nice moments in the reserves and a few appearances for the first team. When I saw the goal he scored in the U20 World Cup final it reaffirmed that this is one of the biggest prospects in world football. Think he will get a lot more opportunities this season and I can't wait to see how he does.

Anyone can score a wondergoal to be fair, but I do agree that it looks like he has very good potential. Was impressed with him in our friendly.

 

[kundalini]

The only thing Blackett contributed was a passing outlet who would recycle possession when Pereira ran out of space. He didn't do anything else to support Pereira.

I'm afraid the video evidence does not support your view. There are 3 instances of Blackett overlapping in Pereira's 5 mins highlights video: 1 min 26 secs, 1 min 58 secs, 2 mins 21 secs. Blackett with the ball attacking the edge of their box 3 mins 51 secs and a good combination move from Pereira and Blackett moving up the field 4 mins 33 secs. And that's just the highlights for Pereira !

Watching these clips again, Pereira doesn't seem particularly aware of the overlapping fullback option available to him, or at least prefers to link with Januzaj inside him, so I'm struggling to see what difference it would make having someone else at leftback.

Pereira's best moment, when he shoots narrowly wide, comes from an attack down the right, when the ball eventually comes to him, though it was intended for either Wilson or Herrera close to the penalty spot. Hardly a situation where you would expect his fullback to be in close attendance.

 

[RooneyLegend]

Certainly should be our deputy Hererra this season.

 

[Wednesday at Stoke]

Yeah, I'd like to think he's in the mix for the attacking midfielder position with Herrera and Fellaini.

 

[RooneyLegend]

Yeah, I'd like to think he's in the mix for the attacking midfielder position with Herrera and Fellaini.

I was thinking more at the 8, where I hope herrera is used thoughoutt he season.

 

[Wednesday at Stoke]

I was thinking more at the 8, where I hope herrera is used thoughoutt he season.

I'd think 2/4 between Carrick, Schweinsteiger, Schneiderlin and Blind will be up for 2 spots in the midfield 3 and 1/3 between Herrera, Fellaini, Pereira for the attacking mid role, which sits on top of the other 2 in a 4-3-3.

 

[Brightonian]

I'm afraid the video evidence does not support your view. There are 3 instances of Blackett overlapping in Pereira's 5 mins highlights video: 1 min 26 secs, 1 min 58 secs, 2 mins 21 secs. Blackett with the ball attacking the edge of their box 3 mins 51 secs and a good combination move from Pereira and Blackett moving up the field 4 mins 33 secs. And that's just the highlights for Pereira !

Watching these clips again, Pereira doesn't seem particularly aware of the overlapping fullback option available to him, or at least prefers to link with Januzaj inside him, so I'm struggling to see what difference it would make having someone else at leftback.

Pereira's best moment, when he shoots narrowly wide, comes from an attack down the right, when the ball eventually comes to him, though it was intended for either Wilson or Herrera close to the penalty spot. Hardly a situation where you would expect his fullback to be in close attendance.

Good post. Blackett's no wonderkid but that doesn't mean people should be able to get away with slagging him off regardless of the performance. He did well against Club America, and certainly offered Pereira plenty of attacking support.

 

[bosnian_red]

The only thing that Pereira should do to improve and probably get more opportunities is to calm down on the pitch a bit... Seemed to be sprinting into everything, though the talent was obvious and he was quite composed with his passing and final ball. Really looking forward to seeing how he does this season for us though, and where he plays. Ideally he should be Herrera's back up as the creative midfielder but he wasn't bad out wide at all either.

 

[Superpolfcb]

The only thing that Pereira should do to improve and probably get more opportunities is to calm down on the pitch a bit... Seemed to be sprinting into everything, though the talent was obvious and he was quite composed with his passing and final ball. Really looking forward to seeing how he does this season for us though, and where he plays. Ideally he should be Herrera's back up as the creative midfielder but he wasn't bad out wide at all either.

I didn't really consider that as a negative, quite the opposite.
With young players, you always hope they do their utmost to take their chance. It's something I've been missing sometimes in Januzaj's sub appearances for example. If you're given 30 or 45 minutes as a young player, you should make sure you've done all you can in that time. Part of that is sprinting for everything. Imo, we saw the 2 types of that against Club America. Pereira tried very hard, but was composed in his passing and technical ability. Wilson (of whom I'm a big fan) on the other hand tried too hard and did everything too fast. He was sprinting all the time, but didn't slow down to get the accuracy of his passes and link-up play right.

 

[Raoul]

This kid is going to make it here.

 

[Raw]

Really liking the look of this guy. Interested to see how he'll do with more of the first team players.

 

[Devil may care]

A stand out again for me, so comfortable on the ball, great run for his goal and a couple of nice dribbles, LvG has to liking what he's seeing.

 

[khoazany]

Fittest player on the squad due to U20s WC involvement and it showed.

 

[marjen]

He's a player, this one.

 

[pseudo_canadian]

This kid is pretty damn talented. Really impressed by him tonight.

 

[Zoo]

Tweet

— Twitter API (@user) date

 

[LR7]

Tweet

— Twitter API (@user) date

Praise indeed.

 

[LR7]

Starting to take games by the scruff of the neck which is what Paul McGuinness said he hoped he'd start to do more regularly when he gave him the captaincy at the Milk cup a couple of seasons ago.

 

[SATA]

He isn't a pussy when it comes to taking in brutal challenges or tackles but instead wanted the ball more. He'll make it here based on that alone

 

[Mali_Zeus]

He played as a nr. 10 or on a wing?

 

[Devil may care]

He played as a nr. 10 or on a wing?

#10.

 

[Mali_Zeus]

#10.

As I see from the posts he was good?

 

[Rezyuz]

He played as a nr. 10 or on a wing?

10