Pereira Targeting United First Team

Andreas Pereira is targeting becoming a regular first-team player at Manchester United after signing a new contract last month.

The talented midfielder is representing Brazil at the Under-20 World Cup in New Zealand and they are currently preparing to face Uruguay in the last 16 (Thursday 08:30 BST).

While Pereira's sights are first set on steering Brazil to success on the other side of the world, he's keen to make more appearances in the Barclays Premier League following his debut against Tottenham in March. And the 19-year-old stated his ambitions in an exclusive interview with this month's Inside United, the official club magazine.

"It's about breaking into the first-team squad," he said. "After that, I have to work hard to get into the first team and, following that, we will see. I was focused on the football anyway [rather than my future] and everything that comes with it but, when I signed, I was very pleased to finalise the contract. I can continue my form like this and do well here in the coming years.

"It means a lot [to me]. I’m very proud to be a Manchester United player. I always dreamed about it. Now I am happy I can live my dream."

Pereira admits he was a little taken aback when coming on as a substitute against Spurs at Old Trafford to make his league bow after making his debut as a substitute in the Capital One Cup at MK Dons in August.

"It was like a dream come true," he confessed. "I was very happy with the moment against Tottenham when I could come on and we won the game as well – that was important. To be fair, when I came on the pitch it looked like I was dreaming. I felt like I was playing a video game then, afterwards, I got used to it. I wanted to help the team. I didn’t think about getting tired as I was just running as hard as I can."