West Bromwich Albion have confirmed the permanent signing of Matheus Pereira for an undisclosed fee from Sporting Lisbon.
The 24-year-old was on loan at the Hawthorns last season helping the club to secure a return back to the Premier League after finishing second in the Sky Bet Championship.
He joins the Baggies on a four-deal and will be hoping to replicate his impressive form in the top flight in the 2020/21 campaign.
The moment you’ve been waiting for ALL summer.
We’re delighted to announce @MatheusPereira is #OfficiallyOurs ✍️🙌 pic.twitter.com/bRnoLLK1TQ
— West Bromwich Albion (@WBA) August 17, 2020
Matheus scored eight goals and assisted a further 16 in 42 Championship appearances and ended the season as West Brom’s Player of the Season in his maiden season in English football.
The stats for Matheus Pereira in the promotion season. #WBA #WBAFC #baggies pic.twitter.com/qFL6HNmNTI
— TheOther14 (@Other14The) August 17, 2020
Sporting and technical director Luke Dowling said: “While there has never been a question that Matheus was our player we decided to leave the final details until the season was complete.
“We wanted Matheus to focus on his football and the last nine games of the season. We agreed out of mutual respect, between club and player, to finalise his contract in the close season.
“Everybody is aware of the impact he made in his first season and from speaking to him I know he is now very excited by the challenge of playing for Albion in the Premier League.”
A return to the English top-flight means that Slaven Bilic’s side now need to make additions to their squad in order to ensure they end up in a decent position next season.
The club are already making plans for a new left-back with Kieran Gibbs reportedly set to be offloaded in the summer having spent three years at the Hawthorns since arriving from Arsenal in 2017.
The defender made 14 starts in the Championship last season, scoring one goal and adding a further two assists in the competition.
But Bilic is willing to move him on after a series of inconsistent performances at the club.
