Is the Serie A the new home for Manchester United’s outcast?
By Varun Aithal
Andreas Pereira is the latest of the Manchester club gearing up for a summer exit, linked with a move to Italian club Lazio.
With Fabrizio Romano confirming Lazio’s loan deal for Andreas Pereira, one question comes to mind. Is the Serie A serving as the new home to Manchester United’s outcast?
Andreas Pereira will become the fifth player to make a move from England to Italy. Before the Brazilian midfielder, Romelu Lukaku, Alexis Sanchez, Ashley Young, and Matteo Darmian moved to Italian clubs after their playing time was reduced at Old Trafford. Also, some issues with the board and manager also contributed to their moves to the Serie A.
What is the reason behind the mass exodus to Italy? Is it easy to play in the Italian top-flight? Two decades ago, Italian Serie A clubs were feared by English Premier League clubs, as well as Spanish La Liga clubs.
In the 1990s-2000s, it was very common to see clubs like AC Milan, Juventus, and Inter Milan in the semifinals-finals of the UEFA Champions League. However, there has been a declining trend in the number of final appearances for the Italian clubs.
Since 2010, no club from the Serie A apart from Juventus has made it into the finals of the UEFA Champions League. The decline of AC Milan sans defeat to Liverpool in 2006/07 is a whole different story.
The story of the last season
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One of the least appreciated center backs at Old Trafford, Chris Smalling had a tremendous season in 2019/20 when he featured for Roma. The manager of Roma, Pablo Fonesca was impressed by Smalling’s performance in his short stint.
The fans of AS Roma were gutted when the player returned to England after his loan spell ended. For the Stadio Olimpico outfit, the player featured in 30 top-flight games. The stats and performances were so impressive that the fans termed him as “Smallidini”.
Partnering Gianluca Mancini in defense, Smalling had a 77.78% take-on success rate and 70.37% aerial duel success. The player settled down quickly in Italy and currently, he is forcing for a move to Italy.
The case of Romelu Lukaku is similar. The player struggled at Old Trafford since Solskjaer’s arrival. Slowly, his game time was reduced in favor of Marcus Rashford, Anthony Martial, and Mason Greenwood.
The player moved to Inter and rained in goals for the club. Not only did Inter finished second in the Serie A standings but also ended as runners-up in the Europa League. These stats make Italy a more adaptable and favorable destination for the Premier League players who are finding it difficult to adapt to the requirements of the English top-flight.
Andreas Pereira will not be the last person to move to the Italian top-flight. Several reports state that clubs like AC Milan are interested in Diogo Dalot. Also, Marcos Rojo is looking to move out of Old Trafford with the emergence of youngsters within the club.
Even if United fails to sign players, there would be few definite sales at the end of what seems to a busy summer transfer window.