This January, Fulham midfielder Andreas Pereira has been linked with a move away from Craven Cottage with a possible return back to Brazil on the cards or even a move to France with Marseille still linked following an unsuccessful attempt in the Summer.
According to reports from Brazil, a transfer bid of £20m has been discussed between Fulham and Palmeiras. However, these such discussions have since been rubbished by Fulham manager Marco Silva.
Interest from Marseille is also there. A club that tried to sign Pereira in the previous transfer window but no talks ever materialised, with Fulham not wanting to lose another key player having lost João Palhinha for a club-record sale to Bayern Munich. Pereira spoke about a possible move to the French club in an interview with a Brazilian outlet, labelling the breaking down of talks as ‘unfortunate’. Questions were raised by Fulham fans, even more so when Pereira was left out of the whole squad for Fulham’s 1-1 draw with Tottenham Hotspur in the Premier League. When asked about this, Marco Silva was adamant that it was a ‘technical’ decision. Pereira also apologised on Instagram saying that his words from Portuguese to English were lost in translation.
Pereira joined Fulham from Manchester United in the Summer of 2022 for an undisclosed fee alongside a 20% sell-on clause. It has been a fairly successful move for Andreas Pereira, having scored 10 times and getting 16 assists, whilst also making his way back into the Brazilian national team making 8 out of his 9 caps as a Fulham player. Pereira only has 18 months left on his current contract, with a further option to extend by an extra year.
This season has been slightly different for Pereira than his previous campaigns in a Fulham shirt, as he has been operating in a slightly deeper role in holding midfield, due to his natural position of attacking midfield being taken up by Emile Smith-Rowe, who joined Fulham as the club’s record signing in the Summer. Pereira has featured in all but two of Fulham’s Premier League matches this season, helped by the injuries to Saša Lukić, Harrison Reed and Sander Berge.
Amid speculation, Pereira reached 100 appearances for the Cottagers during Fulham’s 1-1 draw to Ipswich Town in the Premier League on the 5th of January. He then captained the side as Fulham progressed to the fourth round of the Emirates FA Cup with a 4-1 hammering over Watford. Marco Silva then revealed in his pre-match West Ham press conference that Pereira was one of five captains amongst the group, alongside Tom Cairney, Bernd Leno, Harrison Reed and Antonee Robinson. This comes after the departure of massive dressing room leaders in Tim Ream and Bobby De Cordova-Reid.
So will Andreas Pereira remain a Fulham player come the 1st of February? Possibly, possibly not. We can’t really tell at this stage. What we do know for sure is that Marco Silva still sees Pereira as an integral part of his team and will also not want any move sanctioned without a replacement signing lined up.