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Andreas Pereira has secured himself a place in Manchester United 's first-team squad for the coming campaign.

The Brazil youth international has impressed during the club's pre-season tour and will be included by Jose Mourinho in Champions and Premier League squad lists.

The attacking midfielder, 21, offers options to Mourinho in an area of the team he has been seeking to strengthen, the second line of attack. With Wayne Rooney offloaded to Everton and United yet to secure a deal for an experienced replacement, Pereira is capable of playing on either wing, or as a No.10.

United's squad remains relatively lightweight in this area with Henrikh Mkhitaryan, Juan Mata, Anthony Martial, Jesse Lingard and Marcus Rashford (a specialist striker) covering the three positions. Ashley Young is one of four senior “players that belong to the squad but cannot play for the next few months” because of medium to long-term injuries which have complicated Mourinho's summer overhaul of his squad. Pereira can also be deployed in front of the back four.

(Image: Getty)

Pereira's birthdate offers an advantage in meeting Premier and Champions League squad regulations. January 1 1996 is the exact cut-off date to be qualify as an Under-21 player, permitting the Belgium-born midfielder to be included in both squads 'for free'. Acquired from PSV Eindhoven in 2012 following a person intervention by Sir Alex Ferguson, United will be able to register Pereira as 'home-grown' and 'club-trained' from next season for domestic and UEFA competitions.

United allowed Pereira to join Granada on a season-loan last August. There, he started 34 La Liga games for the Andalusian club, scoring five goals and being credited with three assists. Mourinho subsequently included the Brazilian as one of five recent academy products in United's tour squad, alongside Timothy Fosu-Mensah, Scott McTominay, Demetri Mitchell and Axel Tuanzebe.

(Image: Man Utd via Getty Images) (Image: 2017 Getty Images)

Pereira was used in every one of the club's five fixtures in the United States and remained in the travelling party for Sunday's 3-0 win over Valerenga in Oslo. A second-half substitute against the Norwegian Tippeligaen club, Pereira was handed set-piece duties, almost immediately creating Romelu Lukaku's headed second goal with his delivery from a corner.

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"For me I think it is going well," Pereira said last month. "I am doing my best, I want to get into the team this season. I want to help my team and hopefully we can achieve a lot this season.

“It boosts me that the people here trust the young players. I am very happy for the young players and I want to be a part of this team as well.”