Pereira Manchester United
ROME, ITALY - OCTOBER 01: SS Lazio new signing Andreas Pereira poses as he arrives at Ciampino Airport on October 1, 2020 in Rome, Italy. (Photo by Paolo Bruno/Getty Images)

Manchester United Loanee Unlikely to Stay at Lazio Past Current Season

Andreas Pereira has not seen consistent playing time since he joined Lazio on loan from Manchester United. Therefore it is highly unlikely that the Biancocelesti will pick up the €25M to acquire him at the end of the season, Corriere dello Sport reported.

The Belgian midfielder has featured in just 548 minutes thus far. Despite settling in nicely in the city and with his new teammates, he has not found a proper tactical collocation yet as the coach does not see neither as a box-to-box nor as a second striker in his 3-5-2 scheme. As a result, he has started just twice in his 19 total appearances.

Simone Inzaghi is not particularly keen on rotating the squad, especially his stars Luis Alberto, Sergej Milinkovic-Savic, Joaquin Correa and Ciro Immobile. Plus, he has relied on more established bench options like Felipe Caicedo and has prioritized using Vedat Muriqi, whom was purchased for €17M, over the loanee, when there were some absences.

The outlet indicates that Manchester United, anticipating a return in the summer, have already started to look at other possible destinations to sell Pereira. They would like to fetch a decent sum to invest on a center-back and a top-notch striker. Even though Lazio fans have been clamoring to give the 25-year-old attacker more playing time, it is hard to envision the gaffer experimenting rather than going with his most trusted players in the final stretch of the season.