Manchester United manager Jose Mourinho encourages Andreas Pereira to make loan move

Manchester United are hoping to persuade Andreas Pereira to agree a loan move to a Premier League club. The highly-regarded Brazilian has not yet featured for United this season and the Old Trafford club want him to gain more first-team experience with another team in the Premier League.

Fellow United youngster Adnan Januzaj recently joined Sunderland on a season-long loan deal and the Red Devils are eager to see Pereira, 20, do something similar. Pereira was told after the pre-season tour of China that he did not feature in manager Jose Mourinho's plans for this season.

United and Mourinho are not willing to allow Pereira to leave the club on a permanent basis, but are instead encouraging him to seek first-team football elsewhere this season, according to the Manchester Evening News. The midfielder has reportedly attracted interest from Middlesbrough, as well as clubs in Holland and Spain.

Another possible advantage of joining Middlesbrough on loan is that their manager Aitor Karanka is a close friend of the United boss, having worked together during Mourinho's spell in charge of Real Madrid.

Pereira is under contract with United until at least 2018, but fell out of favour under Louis van Gaal last season, after impressing against Ipswich Town in the League Cup. In total, the Brazilian made 11 appearances for United during the 2015/16 campaign, scoring his only goal against the Tractor Boys at Old Trafford.