Thanks to Andreas Pereira, I can bring you some exclusive intel about life on loan (amongst a few other topics) as a professional football player. He spent the 2020/21 campaign over in Rome playing for Simone Inzaghi's Lazio - his third loan move during his time at United after spells for Granada and Valencia. Although he has only made 45 appearances since his debut for United in 2014, the Brazilian certainly still exudes plenty of positivity and is working tirelessly to further prove his worth. Over the past few seasons, he has definitely shown that worth: he was rewarded with a maiden Brazil call-up after his spell with Valencia, whilst his strike against Southampton in March 2019 earned him United's goal of the season award as he deservedly gained more minutes at the club.
Undoubtedly, he won't easily give up on his dreams to further establish himself in a United shirt. Back in late 2019, he told me that "it's the best feeling ever stepping on the pitch" at Old Trafford - emphasising the love that he clearly has for the club which he joined ten years ago, as a teenager, from PSV Eindhoven. Though it was tough given its elite nature, Andreas hailed the United academy system for giving its players a winning mentality; he stated in our interview eighteen months ago, "we've been brought up to win things from a young age". That mentality is something that academy products at United, like Andreas, clearly maintain throughout their careers.
Whilst rest is important during the off-season, Andreas' desire remains at the forefront, even during a period designed for a 'switch-off'. He is undoubtedly hungry and raring to go ahead of the fresh challenges of the new season.
"I've been keeping busy," he told me. "[I'm] making sure to get the rest [but have] been training and preparing too."
There were some mixed emotions when speaking about his loan spell at Lazio last term; starts were hard to come by, with a hefty majority of appearances coming from the bench. Despite this, there remains a particular air of confidence surrounding Andreas - who has belief that he performed well when called upon.
"On a personal level I had just four starts with four goal contributions so, when I played, I played really well," - that is a very decent return, and he is justifiably very positive about his contributions. Inevitably there will be frustration when you aren't always on the teamsheet, but Andreas appears to be developing a further sense of motivation from that. He clearly has the drive to contribute as much as possible, revealing that he feels "it’s unfortunate that I couldn’t show more and help the team more."
You would imagine that moving on loan could cause some unsettlement, as you temporarily change environment as well as having to integrate within a new team. However, the people within the club and around Rome made it a very welcoming surrounding for Andreas' season at Lazio. Accustomed to loan moves after his two trips to Spain, it is inevitably more straightforward for him to adapt to different settings and - on the football side - different styles of play in various countries.
“I enjoyed it over there", Andreas informed me. "We got [a] great reception from the people at the club and the city of Rome - [it was a] fantastic place, it was quite easy to settle in.” For me, this really outlines the significance of a welcoming and supportive environment within football clubs - much like the requirement of healthy conditions in an ordinary workplace.
Unrelated to loan moves but actually on the aforementioned topic, there was certainly a positive influence of the most recent managerial takeover on the environment at United. Speaking to me during the 2019/20 campaign, Andreas was keen to express the "very good" influence of Solskjaer and his team on both himself and the squad as a whole. Speaking of Ole at the time he said, "for me he has been very important and he is getting the United way back in to the first team: the winning ways, the winning mentality, the way we've been brought up - he is passing that on."
I asked Andreas whether there had been much contact with the club during the past season - he responded, "I was in contact with my teammates always during the past season, and with Ole occasionally.” This contact is certainly important for monitoring of progress whilst on loan; once more, this frequency of contact really exacerbates the collectiveness within the squad at present.
Ultimately, the goal of loan moves is to gain valuable minutes on the pitch - often to prove a point if you are more sporadic at your club. The perfect example of their efficiency is Lingard's switch to West Ham, where he gained opportunities to really hit some form after spending time on the fringe at United. The sheer importance of time on the pitch as a professional footballer cannot be understated.
During our conversation, Andreas told me he thinks that "it’s very important" to gain regular playing time. Subsequently he admitted, "that’s what I need - for sure - to show my full potential and get to my best level.”
Thank you very much to Andreas Pereira for the insights!
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