Andreas Pereira can play Pogba’s role for Manchester United

Paul Pogba is a doubt for the match against Tottenham on Sunday, but Andreas Pereira could step up for Manchester United.

The 25-year-old World Cup winner has not traveled with the rest of the squad to a training camp in Dubai, after picking up a knock in a challenge with Jonjo Shelvey against Newcastle.

He didn’t feature in the FA Cup third round tie against Reading either, although he would have probably been rested anyway.

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The injury comes at the worst possible time for Ole Gunnar Solksjaer, who faces the biggest test of his short Manchester United managerial career when he travels to Wembley later this week.

Tottenham have been very impressive this season, sitting third on the table, 6 points behind leaders Liverpool.

Pogba has seen a tectonic shift in his form under Solksjaer, scoring 4 goals and providing 2 assists in 4 Premier League matches over the festive period.

The Frenchman has linked up well with United’s forwards. The electric pace and fluidity of Martial, Rashford and Lingard have been well complimented by Pogba’s creativity and strength in midfield.

If he is indeed unavailable on Sunday, Solksjaer will probably have to choose between Juan Mata and Andreas Pereira to fill the number 10 role, and the latter’s performance against Reading suggests that he should be given a chance.

Played out of position by Jose

After returning from a productive loan spell at Valencia, Pereira was promised a larger first team role by Mourinho.

However, the Brazilian rarely featured under the former manager, and even when he did, it was in an unfamiliar holding midfield role.

To Pereira’s credit, his tactical intelligence and adaptability helped him perform well whenever he did get an opportunity (apart from a torrid display in the 3-2 defeat to Brighton).

Surprisingly against Reading, Solksjaer played him in defensive midfield again. However, he was moved further forward in the second half, where he was much more dangerous, forcing a brilliant save from Royals keeper Jaakkola in stoppage time.

The 23-year-old has mostly played as a left winger in his loan spells, as well as in the occasional appearance for United, but he is primarily a central attacking midfielder.

Juan Mata’s seniority might place him above Pereira in the pecking order, but the Spaniard might struggle to cope with Spurs’ pace and intensity in midfield.

On the other hand, Pereira is known for his work rate and speed on and off the ball. He also has no shortage of creativity, and could be a thorn in the side for Pochettino’s men, playing off United’s front 3.

He’ll also have Nemanja Matic and Ander Herrera covering him, two players who have massively improved under Solksjaer.

In spite of that, however, the Red Devils’ defense has been worryingly porous throughout this season, and that is unlikely to change if they don’t rope in a center back in January.

This means that in big games, they will have to rely on their forwards outscoring the opposition, and Pereira could be the creative force behind that in Pogba’s absence.