West Brom legally protected over player signed on loan in the summer – Steve Madeley
West Brom are “legally protected” from losing Matheus Pereira to any other club, according to The Athletic journalist Steve Madeley.
The reporter claimed via a live Q&A session on The Athletic website on Friday that West Brom basically have a deal wrapped up to sign the 23-year-old attacker for around £8million on a permanent basis from Sporting CP.
Due to that, it is understood that there is no hurry to tie up the deal in the January transfer window, even though Pereira has been linked with Manchester United by the Mirror.
“As I understand it there is no need for Albion to sign Pereira in January, purely because they are legally protected from losing him to another club,” said Madeley.
“Basically, they have a cast-iron deal in place to sign him for about £8m if they choose to, which they almost certainly will.
“That doesn’t stop other clubs making a move, of course, but they would have to agree a deal with Albion to sign him – they are not able to go directly to Sporting unless Albion choose not to sign him (which they won’t).”
Pereira has been in scintillating form since joining West Brom on loan from Sporting CP in the summer transfer window.
He has scored four goals and supplied 10 assists in 16 Championship appearances for the Baggies, saving one of his best performances in English football until Wednesday night when he dinked in an exquisite free-kick in the 4-1 win against Bristol City.
The fee that Albion agreed with Sporting in the summer is starting to look more and more like a bargain and while Pereira is bound to attract interest next year due to his form in the Championship, there could be the opportunity for the Baggies to make a huge profit on the Brazilian.
However, for now, we are just happy to see Pereira lighting up The Hawthorns with his stellar performances in blue and white stripes.
In other West Brom news, consistency could be key in Albion’s predicted starting line-up for the trip to Preston on Monday.