According to the British newspaper The Independent, Tenhag told the Manchester United board that he wanted to have "almost a new Red Devils starting line-up". But the top brass told him it was impossible to buy a brand new lineup, but he could do it through in-house mining. For example, brazil international Andreas Pereira, who will return at the end of the season.
The Daily Mirror reported that Manchester United's football director John Mutaf had personally called Pereira and that he would only be able to return to the team next season, with Tenhag likely to give him another chance.
Pereira has been loaned to Brazilian flamenco this season, and at one point the two sides had reached a £9m permanent transfer deal earlier this year. However, due to the continued sluggish performance of Xiao Pei, the other party cancelled the transaction and asked Manchester United to further reduce prices.
Pereira made a low-level mistake in the 2021 Copa Libertadores final to present Palmeiras, who scored the winning goal to win the title. Subsequently, his performances deteriorated day by day, and he resumed his mediocre nature at Manchester United. This season, Pereira was reduced to a substitute and flamenco fans booed him several times.
At Manchester United, Pereira's last appearance was in the Europa League in August 2020. Last season, he was loaned to Lazio, and in the end the other side did not buy out, this time in Flamengo also suffered the same ending. However, Mutaf told Pereira that returning to the club this time could have a good chance to prove himself again.
United players such as Pogba, Nemanja Matic, Mata and Jesse Lingard will all leave the squad, so there is a huge shortage of people in midfield. Moreover, the 26-year-old Pereira came from the youth academy at Eindhoven, when Tenhag was the assistant coach of the team. Tenhag will have one-on-one talks with Manchester United players at the end of the season to decide their future.
If he can play in this summer's pre-season, Andreas Pereira may make a good impression on Tenhag. Because he has a nickname called "the pre-season Pirlo" because he always has a good time in warm-up games. In a friendly match against promoted Mabrentford before the start of the season, Pereira scored a long-range volley from the sky and was given a rental opportunity.
Optimistic United fans said: "If Tenhag can make the warm-up game Pirlo-Pereira perform at the same level throughout the season, it will be good." But more fans want Tenhag not to be blinded by his warm-up performances, how good Pereira is in preseason, and how mediocre he is in official matches.
United will also bring in new midfielders this summer, with West Ham already saying they will not sell England international Declan Rice after the season, while Barca's former Ajax boss Frankie De Jong is the most recently rumored midfielder with United and was a former tenhag's favourite.
However, Barca priced the 24-year-old Dutch international £58m. In Barca's midfield position, De Jong must compete with Pedri, Garvey and Busquets for three of the starting positions in the 433 squad.
Harvey said: "Frankie [De Jong] is very important to me, but also to the club and the team. He's a player who can make his mark in this era with his strength and character, and he's been at a very good level since I've been in charge. He has to keep scoring goals and assists to be the protagonist of the game and he could be one of the best midfielders in the world for years to come."