Pereira Will Provide Competition

Louis van Gaal feels Andreas Pereira will compete for a number of roles within Manchester United’s team after the Brazil Under-23 international capped a first competitive start with a stunning free-kick against Ipswich Town on Wednesday evening.

Starting on the left flank in the Capital One Cup third-round clash at Old Trafford, the youngster was eager to impress and proved a lively presence throughout the 3-0 win. Most notably of course, he curled in that unstoppable setpiece to render Ipswich goalkeeper Bartosz Bialkowski powerless and put the Reds 2-0 up on the hour mark.

Such a performance from the 19-year-old prompted the boss to suggest that Pereira, along with Jesse Lingard, is a youngster who can challenge for attacking spots in the Reds’ line-up.

Van Gaal said: "It was his first line-up match (start) and I think he did rather well. He scored a fantastic, important goal and I’m pleased but he has to compete, for example, with Juan Mata, Memphis Depay and Ashley Young so it shall be difficult for him.

"He can play in the no.7, 10 and 11 positions. Lingard can also play no.7, 10 and 11. I have multi-functional players but they have to compete with other players. It is dependable on the level of the players. I always put the best player in the line-up when he is working for the team."