Boy from Brazil Andreas Pereira has finally taken his ‘finger out of his bottom’ and is proving what he can do on the Premier League stage.
That’s according to former Fulham and England defender Paul Parker, who is loving watching the Cottagers’ flying start to life in the top-flight.
Pereira, 26, joined Fulham from Manchester United this summer after a stuttering eight years at Old Trafford.
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The Brazilian failed to fire after loan spells at Granada, Valencia, Lazio and Flamengo but looks to have now found his mojo under Marco Silva’s guidance.
He grabbed his side's leveller from the penalty spot against Manchester City on Saturday before Erling Haaland's dramatic last-gasp strike inflicted Silva's side with a tough 2-1 defeat.
Fulham sit seventh in the Premier League table and Parker, who played over 150 games for the club before a West London move to QPR, believes Pereira has been central to their rise and finally banished his Old Trafford demons.
The 58-year-old, speaking ahead of the club’s clash against United next Sunday, said: “I think Andreas Pereira coming from Manchester United, he has decided to take his finger out of his bottom and have a real go now.
“He is proving himself as a very, very good player. He is a Brazilian international but he never showed it at all for Manchester United and he is proving what he can do.
“He has got an opportunity in a week and a half’s time to go up against Manchester United and prove to them how good he can be. But then again he has to prove it to himself because he let himself down when he was there.
“Fulham have started quite well – I don’t want to jump on it too much because with the break coming up as well, you just don’t know what is going to be on the other side of it.
“Teams are going to be a little bit wiser, they get a different mandate on how things are going to be but the way they have attacked the first half of the season.”
Parker was speaking ahead of Channel 4 documentary ‘Italia 90: When Football Changed Forever’, which aired its first episode on Monday night and sees Parker feature alongside fellow England stars Stuart Pearce, Paul Gascoigne, John Barnes, Peter Shilton and Steve Bull.
England’s run to the semi-finals – where they suffered penalty heartbreak against Germany – still holds a storied status in Three Lions folklore.
And Parker, who played an unfortunate role in the Germans’ opener before providing the assist for Gary Lineker’s leveller, is thrilled to help shine a light on the tournament over three decades on.
He added: “I’m involved in something that goes on and on and on.
“To see people still talking so passionately about Italia 90 32 years on is just something I never anticipated.
“I thought it would have been done when we got home, and the new season started, usually people move on.
“But you know, it just hasn’t, it hasn’t been allowed to die.”
Italia 90: When Football Changed Forever. Broadcasting on Channel 4 at 9 pm on Monday 31st October, includes interviews with Paul Parker, Stuart Pearce, Paul Gascoigne, John Barnes, Peter Shilton and Steve Bull #Italia90 https://www.channel4.com/
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