Matheus Pereira primed to trigger West Brom deal

The Brazilian has been a revelation ever since joining the Baggies on a temporary basis from Sporting Lisbon back in August.

Now widely seen as the best player in the Championship, the loan agreement taking Pereira to The Hawthorns gave Albion the right to purchase him at any time.

But it also included two clauses that would trigger a permanent deal based on the number of appearances the 23-year-old made.

Those clauses – the Express & Star can reveal – gave Lisbon a guarantee the deal would become permanent if Albion won promotion to the Premier League and Pereira started 20 Championship games.

But the deal also becomes permanent if he starts 30 league matches or features in 30 league matches for more than 46 minutes.

Prior to football being suspended due to the coronavirus pandemic, it had been well documented that Pereira would make his 30th league start against Blues – triggering the deal.

And head coach Slaven Bilic confirmed there has been no change to that agreement.

It means Pereira will join the Baggies for an overall £9million – which includes a £750,000 loan fee the Baggies have already paid.

If the Brazilian does start against Blues, Albion hope to announce they have signed Pereira permanently ahead of the Brentford game – with the club just needing to tie up the loose ends that come with the paperwork for any transfer.

Speaking at a press conference yesterday, Bilic confirmed Pereira is highly likely to start this weekend, therefore triggering the deal.

“He will become our player if he plays on Saturday,” the head coach said.

“That is very likely to happen, of course, unless something crazy happens.

“But definitely we are delighted that it is happening.”

Asked if he was ever worried the deal wouldn’t happen due to the coronavirus pandemic, Bilic continued: “No – a contract is a contract.

“It’s all been sorted.

“Since day one, he has proven to be one of the biggest reasons why we are where we are.

“It’s great to have a situation where we have him permanently.

“He is a game changer. He dictates a game. He makes decisions and he influences games in the area of the pitch where it is most difficult to make them.

“That’s why those players are of such big value and why we are delighted to have him.”