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West Brom's Matheus Pereira learning the lingo at Hawthorns

Matheus Pereira says he is working hard to improve his English so he can communicate better with his team-mates.

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Matheus Pereira of West Bromwich Albion celebrates after scoring a goal (AMA)

The Brazilian has settled into life at The Hawthorns seamlessly since arriving from Sporting Lisbon in the summer.

Pereira, who enjoyed a loan with German side FC Nurnberg last season, has moved to the UK with his wife Thalyta, who speaks English having previously studied here.

But while team-mates Grady Diangana and Filip Krovinovic are happy to translate, the forward has revealed he is currently in the process of hiring an English teacher.

“My English, maybe in two months I will do my first video interview in English,” Pereira said.

“I’m watching a lot of films and I’m in the process of getting an English teacher to help me with two lessons a week so that my communication with my team-mates is better.

“In the dressing room, the fact that football is universal helps, but Grady and Filip have really helped me.

“Filip speaks Spanish and Grady has a little Spanish too.

“Sometimes we communicate in that form, but I can speak a little English now too.

“I can get by. When I was playing in Germany, all the players spoke to me in English.

“I’m all right, it’s only when people talk very quickly that I lose the meaning.”

Pereira was born in Belo Horizonte, Brazil, but moved to Portugal aged 15 after the country suffered a financial crash.

And now he says – if given the choice –he’d like to represent Portugal at international level.

“I was fortunate in Brazil,” he continued. “We had a nice home and my father had a very good job as a sales director.

“But when the financial crash happened it all went wrong and we made the move to Portugal.

“My mother went over first, then my father when my mother came back to pick up myself and my four siblings.

“My dad went from a sales director to selling cable TV – it was a big shock for us all.

“It was the first time my mum had to go to work and she took a job as a cleaner.

“I feel my essence is Brazilian but my heart is in Portugal.

“That’s where all the best memories come from.

“To play for them? That would be a dream. Portugal is in my heart now.”