West Brom have informed Sporting Lisbon that they want more time to pay for the permanent signing of Matheus Pereira.
The attacking midfielder joined the Baggies on loan back in August and he has been an instant hit at The Hawthorns, contributing with six goals and 16 assists to help Slaven Bilic’s side to second place in the Championship. Such is his form, Pereira has been dubbed the best player in the league by some pundits and was even said to be attracting interest from Manchester United.
However, Albion were always in pole position to sign the player on a long-term basis, having agreed a fee with the Portuguese outfit as part of the initial loan and it could be triggered once he hit a certain amount of games. That hasn’t been hit yet though, with O Jogo reporting that West Brom have asked the Lisbon outfit if they can postpone the payment to make it permanent, which was said to be around €10m.
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Of course, that’s because of the current situation which has had a major impact on clubs up and down the country, even though Albion are in a stronger position than most. Importantly, the report also adds that the transfer isn’t in doubt, with the Baggies having a good relationship with the Lisbon outfit, who are happy to wait for now as the understand how the current climate has impacted clubs.
Pereira will expect to be playing Premier League football if, or when, he does sign permanently, with Bilic’s side six points clear of third-place in the race for automatic promotion.
