£5m Decision Around Pedro Pereira

Why the £5m decision around Pedro Pereira doesn't quite add up for Bristol City
The Portugal Under-21 international has enjoyed a fine season as the Robins' second-choice right-back

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Pedro Pereira in action for Bristol City

According to the latest reports in Portugal, Bristol City are "willing" to make Pedro Pereira a full-time Robin and turn his season-long loan from Benfica into a permanent deal.

In a report about Benfica's various loanees stationed around Europe, Portuguese daily Record claim the club want to raise €20m in transfer sales this summer.

Pereira comes into the reckoning with the report detailing the Robins' position on the right-back, who has made 12 Championship starts and six league appearances off the bench since arriving in the final week of the summer transfer window.

Certainly making the 22-year-old a City player beyond this summer makes a lot of sense. He's enjoyed a strong campaign, especially in the context of his age and adaptation to English football.

If the last eight months have been the baseline for him, and his potential ceiling looks high, then securing his future for another 3+ years makes a lot of sense.

He is also in a position of need for the club, having operated primarily as a back-up to Jack Hunt this season, or the more defensive-minded option when Lee Johnson wants to field a back four.

As reported by Bristol Live in March, City's three main areas where they want to strengthen this summer are at full-back, both left and right, and defensive midfield.

Bringing in Pereira to complement or maybe take over from Hunt as first-choice is a quick and easy decision that makes a lot of sense given he's now relatively settled in Bristol, with the club, his teammates and Johnson's ways of working.

However, the sizeable elephant in the room surrounding this conversation is exactly what it'll take to make that a reality and, as Record state it's €6m, which is just over £5m.

For a young and promising defender, whose a Portugal Under-21 international from a Champions League-level team that is far from an unrealistic valuation and just over two months ago was probably very appealing for City.

But the financial landscape now is so very different. The coronavirus-enforced shutdown has decimated Championship revenues, bred uncertainty around the market and will almost certainly, at least in the short to medium term, cause clubs to reassess transfer and wage budgets.

Benfica's desired fee for Pereira, and it's understood City have first refusal over whether to sign him, now looks considerably more than it did at the start of March, even if the figure hasn't changed.

It's roughly 2/3 of what City paid Chelsea last summer to set a new transfer record for the signing of Tomas Kalas - coincidentally another loan made permanent.

It would also be the third-biggest fee paid by the club behind the Czech international and Famara Diedhiou.

Now, this isn't to do Pereira a disservice, because he's a very fine player, but spending that figure on a second-choice right-back in a financial crisis for all of football seems something of a stretch.

The status of Benik Afobe must also be factored in - and is a different debate in itself - because the Robins have the option to make the striker a permanent addition this summer as well.

It's hard, given the current climate, to envisage City signing both Pereira and Afobe on permanents for a collective figure that would likely approach £10m.

The club remain ambitious and there will forever be a desire to strengthen and reinforce the squad, but Steve and Jon Lansdown, CEO Mark Ashton and Johnson are also realists.

If the bottom does, as expected, fall out of the transfer market and fees come crashing down, spending £5m on any player could become a luxury for most Championship clubs.

What looks most likely is City exploring a second season-long loan with an option to buy beyond that.

As forecast by many football finance experts, the loan market is likely to experience an even bigger boom than what's occured over last 2-3 years and City, as we know, are excellent operators in the field.

Benfica may not get their hands on what they want just yet but will receive assurances on a figure approaching that further down the line.

City get to keep and develop an excellent prospect into a first-team regular, ensuring that when the time comes, spending £5m on Pereira is justifiable and an excellent piece of business.
https://www.bristolpost.co.uk/sport/football/5m-decision-around-pedro-pereira-4154294