Realistic Expectations for Manchester United Teenage Midfielder Andreas Pereira

Andreas Pereira gave a superb account of himself on Manchester United's pre-season tour. With manager Louis van Gaal playing two separate XIs against Club America, San Jose Earthquakes and Barcelona, it is no surprise he got plenty of playing time.

However, it was notable that in the final game—against Paris Saint-Germain, when Van Gaal made fewer changes—Pereira still got an extended cameo.

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Notable but not surprising. The young Brazil international had a fine summer. He was one of the standout players at the under-20 World Cup. He carried that confidence forward into his performances for United.

So where does Pereira go from here? How much can he realistically expect to feature in the season ahead?

Van Gaal was asked at the final International Champions Cup press conference, after the PSG game, whether he planned to start any youngsters in the season opener against Tottenham Hotspur on August 8. After all, he had started Jesse Lingard at the beginning of last season.

What he said in response, per football writer Eddie Umana on Twitter, did not point to a plan to gamble on a younger player.

Van Gaal replied, "a benefit of this year is that we don't have any injury," saying he had selected Lingard and Tyler Blackett out of necessity. He went on to add, "Now I have a wide selection and I can use everybody who I think I have to use."

However, if the manager were to gamble on an unproven talent, then Pereira's pre-season provided plenty of pointers to his potential.

He played as a No. 10 against San Jose and Barcelona and wide left against America and PSG. He looked sharp in both positions. It was from behind the striker that he scored against San Jose. From the left, he put in a number of very fine crosses, including one that fell dangerously to the feet of Juan Mata against PSG.

Mata fluffed his lines, but Pereira was probably United's most dangerous attacking force in that game.

I predicted Pereira would be selected in the first XI against Spurs, but perhaps it would be more realistic to suggest he comes off the bench if United are in need of additional creativity.

How many games he gets across the season as a whole will depend on a number of factors. The first is, of course, his performance. That applies to when he does get a chance, training and whatever reserve games he is asked to play.

The second is the system United use. There is an additional slot in which Pereira can play if Van Gaal persists with the 4-2-3-1 he used in pre-season than there would be if he moved to a conventional 4-3-3. The latter would do away with an out-and-out No. 10, so Pereira would have to play wide.

The final key factor is that of competition for places.

He is essentially competing for the wide left and/or No. 10 spots with Ashley Young, Memphis Depay, Juan Mata, Wayne Rooney and Adnan Januzaj. That assumes Angel Di Maria leaves and a new signing is not made in that area.

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Some of those players will likely be occupied elsewhere, particularly Mata, whom Van Gaal has repeatedly played wide right, and Rooney, who looks to have the No. 9 spot nailed down. Depay has been playing centrally on the tour, so for now wide left looks to be a straight fight between Young and either Pereira or Januzaj.

With Van Gaal perhaps seeing Januzaj as an alternative No. 9 to Rooney, Pereira will thus have to overhaul Young to make the position his own. The Englishman's good season last time out and his defensive reliability give him the edge for now. It does not seem wildly unrealistic, though, that Pereira could displace Young by the time the season is out.

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This season should be one of development for the youngster. He can realistically expect plenty of cameo appearances, and if he excels, he has the opportunity to stake a first-team claim for himself.

The future currently looks bright for Andreas Pereira.