Kevin Phillips: I don’t want Matheus Pereira to quit West Brom for Wolves
We’re delighted to welcome former West Brom striker Kevin Phillips as our exclusive columnist. Each week he’ll be giving his views on the biggest talking points at The Hawthorns…
Kevin Phillips would hate to see West Brom star Matheus Pereira leave The Hawthorns in the summer to join local rivals Wolves.
Pereira, 24, has been in sensational form for the Baggies as of late but his highlight in blue and white stripes remains the brace he scored at Molineux in a 3-2 win earlier this season.
Unfortunately, Pereira’s good performances coupled with an inevitable relegation for the Albion has seen speculation surround the Brazilian’s future at the club.
The Athletic has reported there are a number of Premier League clubs who are interested in Pereira, including Aston Villa, who witnessed just how good the ex-Sporting CP ace can perform on Sunday in a 2-2 draw at Villa Park.
West Brom News has asked Phillips whether he thinks Wolves could sign Pereira in the summer due to his dual Brazilian-Portuguese citizenship and Wolves’ tendency to sign players who are Portuguese.
“He’d be a brave person to go to Wolves, wouldn’t he? All that hard work he’s done at West Brom would be undone in an instant,” Phillips told West Brom News.
“I remember when I left West Brom, Wolves were in the background and I just dismissed it straight away because I didn’t want to ruin my time there.
“Pereira will get linked with other clubs because if they go down, it’s just a natural thing that happens and I’m sure there will be a few clubs who are interested. With his form, if he continues to be good between now and the end of the season, that will alert a few clubs.
“Local clubs will probably look at him as there wouldn’t be much hassle in terms of relocation.
“There’s a Portuguese connection at Wolves but I wouldn’t want to see that happen at all.
“I’d love West Brom to be able to say to him, ‘look we’re going to bounce straight back, we’re going to invest and we want you to be a keep part of it’. I’d rather see that.”
Pereira has scored nine goals in 29 Premier League appearances for the Baggies this season.
Without him, there’s no doubt that Sam Allardyce’s side would already have been relegated back to the Championship with an instant return to the second-tier likely to be confirmed within weeks.
It won’t happen this weekend though with West Brom set to host Wolves at The Hawthorns for what could be the final Black Country derby for at least a year.
If Pereira’s going to leave in the summer, he can at least leave as someone who ran riot against the Dingles in a relegation year.
In other West Brom news, this former Celtic player confirms he’d be keen to join the Albion.
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