Matheus Pereira could be the new Pablo Hernandez at Leeds United

Leeds United are back in the second tier after three years of playing Premier League football.

Now that the takeover by 49ers Enterprises is complete, there are likely to be many changes behind the scenes at Elland Road this summer, with plenty of work still to be resolved and many key decisions needing to be made regarding the manager and playing squad as well.

Leeds will bring in plenty of new faces this summer as they gear up towards another season in the second tier, but this time will be without the star that lit up their Championship campaigns previously.

That player is Pablo Hernandez, who scored 36 and assisted a further 41 goals for Leeds in 175 games, including 72 of those goal contributions at Championship level from 153 appearances.

‘El Mago’ or ‘The Magician’ was the shining light for the Whites during those most recent years in the second tier. The Spaniard picked up three Player of the Season awards in four seasons during his time with the club at that level.

His skill and invention was a huge differential in tight games, with Hernandez able to make something out of nothing at key moments and many of his goals and assists proving to be match-winners as well.

How do Leeds replicate Pablo Hernandez?

One creative player who could be a good option for Leeds is Matheus Pereira, formerly of West Bromwich Albion.

The attacking-midfielder ought to be on Leeds’ radar to fill the void and give Leeds better invention in the final third. Pereira scored or assisted 28 goals in 42 games for West Brom in the Championship, and 17 in 33 Premier League games, too,

The 27-year-old has undoubted quality and would be a great addition for Leeds, who have lacked creative players in the number-10 role – as an example, Brenden Aaronson is a good ball carrier and presser, but is not a creative player.

Aaronson lacks the speed of thought, flair, and weight of pass to succeed in that role, where the Brazilian could flourish and transform Leeds’ attack.

Pereira would complement the tricky and fast forwards in Leeds’ current forward line, with many of them happy to make direct runs in behind for the playmaker to find penetrating passes for and knit play together.

Could Leeds sign Matheus Pereira?

Pereira currently plays for Saudi side Al-Hilal, where he has been since 2021; but there have been some reports he is out of favour with the club and manager, having been loaned to Al-Wahda for some of this season, too.

He could not return to England under the old restrictions on overseas players, but Martyn Ziegler of The Times provided this update on the situation this week:

Under these new regulations, Pereira could return to England, and it is a player Leeds should be after to improve their team ten-fold in attack.

The Whites should be among the favourites for promotion, having just come down from the Premier League, which means the onus will be on them in games to break their opponent down, as often they will sit in a low block and try to soak up Leeds pressure.

Pereira is exactly the sort of player they should be after to unlock doors in this regard, barring any major issues with wages in coming from Saudi Arabia.