Dean Windass has claimed that Aston Villa should avoid making a move to sign Matheus Pereira from West Brom this summer.

Pereira played a key role in helping West Brom win promotion from the Championship while on loan at The Hawthorns during the 2019/20 season, earning him a permanent move to the club in the summer of 2020.

The Brazilian then impressed in the Premier League last season, scoring 11 goals and providing six assists in 33 league outings.

But with those efforts not enough to prevent the Baggies from suffering relegation, Pereira has now been linked with a return to the top-flight with the likes of Aston Villa.

However, it seems Windass believes that a move to bring Pereira across the Midlands to Villa Park, would not be a good one for Dean Smith's side to make.

Speaking to Football Transfer Tavern about Villa's interest in Pereira, the former Bradford and Middlesbrough striker said: “I can’t see that because he’s not a Dean Smith sort of player, compared to Jack Grealish who always tracks back and Pereira doesn’t do any of that.

“When you play in the Premier League, you can’t carry anybody so I don’t think that will happen.”

It has been suggested that West Brom could sell Pereira for a fee in the region of £15million this summer.

The Verdict

This is an interesting claim for Windass to make about Pereira and Villa.

The Brazilian was hugely impressive for West Brom in the circumstances last season, so you do feel as though he could thrive in a team aiming even further up the table next season.

Indeed, if Villa were to lose Grealish this summer, then bringing in someone with the creative spark of Pereira to go alongside the already signed Emiliano Buendia, could go some way to offsetting that loss.

It also seems as though West Brom's asking price could be affordable for Villa, so it might not be a huge surprise if they do still look to try and sign the 25-year-old over the next few months now that the market is open.