If reports are to be believed, North London side Tottenham Hotspur are in danger of missing out on Portuguese full-back Ricardo Pereira, whom they have been monitoring throughout the summer, with Manchester United joining the race. The FC Porto man has attracted a lot of interest from clubs across Europe this summer with United and Spurs two sides from the Premier League.
Following the sale of Kyle Walker to Manchester City, Mauricio Pochettino has been keen to fill that void but is yet to find a potential option in the right back’s role. Pereira has been one of his rare priorities and with the Argentine assuring that the club would make signings before the transfer window closes, it looks as if the player will make his way to Wembley after all.
Manchester United have their own defensive concerns with the injured Luke Shaw keeping manager Jose Mourinho in a conundrum over a perfect replacement. And Pereira’s brilliant versatility in the defensive third has attracted the Portuguese’s interest as well. Apparently, both the clubs had sent their scouts to monitor the player in FC Porto’s recent 1-0 victory against Tondela.
The Lilywhites have started their season strongly against newly promoted Newcastle United last week but the injury to Kieran Trippier had forced the manager to field young Kyle Walker-Peters on the right defensive flank. Although the 20-year-old did decently, Pochettino cannot bank on him to take up the position throughout the season.
And with just two weeks to go before the window closes, we expect the club to make a move and fast. The youth product of Liga NOS side Sporting Lisbon, Pereira’s brilliant progress could be credited to the loan stints during his underage years with sides like Naval 1º de Maio U19 and Vitória Guimarães SC U19 before FC Porto’s B side finally recognized his potential in 2013.
Further improvement saw the player go on yet another short loan stint with Ligue 1 side OGC Nice in 2015. He was productive and hasn’t looked back since then. He has shown glimpses of his brilliance from the flanks with a similarly aggressive approach like that of the departed Kyle Walker and phenomenal pace when with the ball.
He is also a great dribbler of the ball and starting on the opposite flank of Danny Rose, could inject the Tottenham squad with tremendous pace. He isn’t the tallest of players at 175cm and will be of little help from aerial duels, but his strength and ability to hold the ball are unparalleled. Earlier reports had stated his release clause to be around £22 million, and Spurs could easily splurge it given the utility player that he is.
