Sporting CP have given West Brom an extra 30 days to come up with the funds required to make Matheus Pereira's loan move to The Hawthorns permanent, a report from a print edition of Portuguese outlet Record has claimed.

Pereira joined the Baggies on a season-long loan back in the summer transfer window, and has been in outstanding form for Slaven Bilic's side ever since.

The attacker has scored six goals and provided 12 assists in 33 league appearances for West Brom this season, helping them to second place in the current Championship standings, six points clear of third-placed Fulham in the race for automatic promotion.

Not surprisingly therefore, the Baggies appear keen to make the Brazilian's loan move permanent, something they can reportedly do for a fee of around €9.5million.

However, as a result of the cash flow problems brought about by the ongoing suspension of the football season, it seems the Baggies have now encountered something of a hurdle in their attempts to do that.

According to the latest reports, the Championship promotion chasers have now asked Sporting for an extension to the deadline by which they must pay that fee for Pereira, something the Portuguese giants have agreed to.

It is thought that while the original cut-off point for West Brom to pay that permanent fee was the 31st May, the Baggies now have until the 30th June to do just that, although it is said that Sporting will not be allowing any further extensions beyond that.

West Brom are still reportedly planning to invest in Pereira, and any permanent deal is not thought to be under threat just yet, which is said to be the reason for Sporting agreeing to sanction that extension to the deadline.

The Verdict

This will be a big relief for West Brom.

Pereira has been absolutely outstanding for them at times this season, so it is no surprise to see how keen they to make sure they can indeed make his move permanent.

This latest update certainly seems to give them a better chance of doing that, and it is good to see Sporting have been willing to help them out here, although it will be interesting to see just what happens if they are still unable to raise the funds by the point of the new deadline.

If that does happen, then you could understand Sporting's reluctance to extend the deadline further. They too will have been hit by the season's suspension, and the money they could receive for Pereira could be a big boost for them in dealing with the current situation, meaning they cannot wait for West Brom forever, if another club is able to pay that price immediately.