Why West Brom must sign Matheus Pereira permanently
Championship pacesetters West Bromwich Albion recently registered a thumping 5-1 win vs Swansea City and consolidated their position at the top of the league table with 45 points in 20 games.
While the entire team has been a revelation under Slaven Bilic this term, one player has deservedly stood out with his dazzling performances upfront. And that is none other than their on-loan star from Sporting CP, Matheus Pereira.
The 23-year-old has thrived for the Baggies so far. According to Express and Star, West Brom would need to fork out a fee in the region of £8.25million to sign him permanently.
It must be noted that they spent £750,000 to sign the attacker on loan, meaning if they meet Sporting’s demands, they would effectively shell out a total sum of £9million for his services. In today’s inflated market, that is peanuts for a player who has made an impact as solid as Pereira.
In the game against Swansea alone, the Brazilian chipped in with one goal and three assists. As per WhoScored, the 23-year-old has contributed five goals and 10 assists in 18 Championship appearances thus far.
With an average of 1.9 shots per game and a passing accuracy of 81.5%, Pereira has been a formidable presence on a consistent basis for West Brom. He is quite versatile as well, illustrated by the fact that Bilic has fielded him on the right, left as well as in a No. 10 role.
Having chipped in with an average of 2.4 key passes per game in the second-tier competition so far, the Brazilian ace has notched up an overall rating of 7.46. The fact that West Brom have already scored 41 goals with the campaign yet to reach the halfway mark, speaks volumes of the kind of impact Pereira has had on the team.
If West Brom continue playing like this, nothing can stop them from securing automatic promotion to the Premier League. If that happens, a player like Pereira would be a blessing in disguise. Thus, it is an absolute no-brainer for the Baggies to make his loan deal a permanent one as soon as possible.
