3 Manchester United players who can be Juan Mata's long-term replacement

#1 Andreas Pereira

Pereira started during United's narrow win over Leicester but has struggled for much minutes since

After loan spells with Granada and more recently, Valencia, Andreas Pereira is playing a patient waiting game in Manchester. The highly-rated midfielder, 22, has been on the books at Old Trafford since signing for £150,000 from PSV Eindhoven in January 2012.

Spain proved a useful experience for him in his quest to earn valuable senior minutes - but has only served as a desire for more. United would prefer him feel this way than waste his time playing under-23s football, though it came as a surprise that his future was not finalised over the summer months.

With less than a year left (one-year option to extend) on his existing deal, he had a full pre-season campaign under his belt and a chance to stake his claim for a starting berth too, having not been called up for Brazil's World Cup squad over the summer.

Having played in a variety of different positions across midfield and attack, it was important to establish clarity and faith that Pereira would play more frequently where he is best utilised. That is as a number ten, or at least a creative-minded central midfield player.