Manchester United will add yet another goalkeeper to their first-team squad due to the impending return of Joel Pereira to Old Trafford.
The 23-year-old goalkeeper spent the 2019-20 season on loan at Hearts of Midlothian in the Scottish Premier League. His spell was not a positive one by any standards. The Portuguese was not the solution the Tynecastle side needed between the posts and conceded 43 goals in 25 games. To make things even worst, Hearts got relegated to the second division after finishing last in the Scottish Premiership standings.
Right now, it is hard to envision a future for Pereira at Old Trafford. Once a promising youngster, his recent loan spells have been abysmal, to say the least. This season should have been a “make-or-break year” for the Portuguese. If the coaching staff judges him by that standard, then he failed miserably.
The fact that Dean Henderson has been thriving in his loan spell at Sheffield United further complicates things for Pereira moving forward. He will have to wait until the end of the current season to see what is going to happen with him. However, projections show him as the club’s fifth-best choice between the post. Right now, he would sit behind David De Gea, Sergio Romero, Lee Grant and Henderson, if he returns.
The 23-year-old is under contract to United until next summer with the option of an additional year. But he is quite old to remain going away on loans every single season. At this point in his career, he should be considered a reliable goalkeeper. He did not show those traits at Hearts. In fact, he missed his club’s last four games of the 2019-20 season due to a dip in form that saw him keep just one clean sheet in 14 starts.
Pereira will have to figure things out soon. If he does not, then he might have to find a new club to play for in the 2020-21 season. He has not shown he is good enough to play for Manchester United over the past 12 months.
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