The 18-year-old has burst onto the scene at Watford and made his professional debut in early May, will either Newcastle or West Ham manage to steal him away?
West Ham manager Slaven Bilic
West Ham United and Newcastle United have started a tug-of-war for Watford youngster Dion Pereira, while the midfielder is also mulling over a new contract offer from the Hornets, as reported by the London Evening Standard.
The 18-year-old has recently burst onto the scene and made two Premier League appearances in the 2016/17 campaign, with both coming in May – the 3-0 defeat to Leicester City and the 5-0 defeat to Manchester City.
Watford’s Tom Cleverley and M’Baye Niang during their 5-0 mauling to Manchester City
Pereira has been at Watford for many years now and a lot is expected to come from him, with the midfielder starting out at Vicarage Road by playing for the club’s under 9’s, and was recently named as the club’s young player of the year.
Despite the new deal on the table from Watford, it’s thought that Pereira is considering his options at the club, and there is also strong interest from newly promoted Premier League side Brighton and Hove Albion, as well as play-off finalists Reading, as reported by the London Evening Standard.
Newcastle United’s Christian Atsu and Brighton’s Jamie Murphy in action
Given that Pereira is under the age of 24 and has been offered a new contract, if he chooses to decline it and move elsewhere, Watford will be entitled to compensation for his services, which would be set by a tribunal.
West Ham’s interest in Pereira is especially interesting, considering that club co-owner David Gold recently claimed on Twitter that there were no teenagers at the club good enough to push for a first team place, as reported by the Mirror.
West Ham United co owner David Gold in the stands
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