Pereira bidding war must not be allowed to drag on
MATHEUS Pereira – what’s he worth to Albion?
The Brazilian playmaker was unquestionably the club’s bestperforming outfield player in a dreary Premier League campaign, scoring 11 goals and providing seven assists.
Pereira could flourish should he be granted the opportunity to remain in the top flight and it wouldn’t be a surprise to see a bidding war commence in the coming weeks.
Leeds have been linked, so have Norwich, West Ham, Leicester, Aston Villa and Crystal Palace.
Pereira has shown he can do it in the Premier League and would surely be a terrific acquisition for any ambitious top-flight outfit.
What is he worth?
Pereira’s value monetarily, and to Albion as an asset, are perhaps different figures. Take Jack Grealish, or Wilfried Zaha – players who are very talented and have huge influence on their respective sides. Pereira is in a similar bracket.
Albion fans would hope he could fetch as much as three times the £9 million the club spent on him, while at the same time taking into full consideration just how difficult it would be to replace him.
How’s the market?
Emi Buendia, formerly of Norwich, has experienced relegation and promotion in the last two years – the same as Pereira. An excellent player also, he cost Villa a fee that could rise to £38m. Is Pereira in that bracket? It would be hard to argue that he isn’t.
Look further afield and it’s tricky to make sense of transfer fees, and what constitutes value for money.
The market has become especially distorted. Nathan Ake, a defender relegated from the Premier League with Bournemouth, cost big-spending Manchester City in the region of £41m in the summer of 2020. If you applied that logic to Pereira’s valuation... it makes you think.
How the land lies
Much like Sam Johnstone, it’s widely accepted Albion will do well to hold on to Pereira.
Financially, the club are doing okay.
Their relegation has at least been cushioned by the arrival of parachute payments, but they will miss out on the lucrative television rights Premier League clubs enjoy.
What they will want is a quick sale, if Pereira goes.
The Baggies don’t want it dragging out until the end of August, by which time they’ll have the money to put the meat on the bones of Valerien Ismael’s skeletal squad – but not the time.