Left for £16m: West Brom hit gold selling ace who’s now worth millions less

West Bromwich Albion have come out the other side of a frantic summer transfer window reinvigorated and eager to win promotion back up to the Premier League, as Carlos Corberan’s side currently sitting top of the early Championship standings.

It was an off-season of much upheaval – as first-team stalwarts such as Brandon Thomas-Asante, Conor Townsend and Okay Yokuslu all departed to name a few – but the Baggies don’t look too damaged for it at the moment, with no defeats next to their name from six league clashes to date.

West Brom would have been hurting when this former star walked away from the Hawthorns in 2021 too, after a whirlwind couple of seasons saw this exciting attacker become a firm fan’s favourite.

Pereira’s time at West Brom

Pereira would constantly get fans out of their seats when donning a Baggies strip over two seasons, with his heroics during the 2019/20 campaign helping West Brom win promotion up to the Premier League.

The Brazilian trickster would amass a ridiculous eight goals and 20 assists across that full campaign, as then Baggies boss Slaven Bilic must have been so relieved to have such a creative machine in Pereira in his ranks toying with second-tier defences for fun.

His powers wouldn’t wane when making the gigantic step-up to the top-flight either, with the now 28-year-old midfielder picking up 12 goals and six assists in all competitions, before sealing a move away from the Hawthorns after the club were immediately sent back down to the second tier.

He was even labelled as “unbelievable” by one of his former coaches in Nate Weiss around this time, who helped to oversee his development at 1. FC Nürnberg, before he exploded into life in England.

Pereira upping and leaving must have been extremely disappointing news to take at the time, with the exciting midfielder swapping West Brom – where he had become a beloved favourite – for pastures new in Saudi Arabia with Al-Hilal, who must have been offering the South American star a hefty wage increase.

The Middle East outfit also secured Pereira’s services for a reported £16m fee, which might have been seen as a low amount in 2021 considering the fact the former Baggies number 12 was just fresh off a top personal season in the Premier League, even as his side succumbed to relegation.

Now, however, West Brom will be glad that they did decide to cash in when they did, with Pereira’s valuation plummeting to way below that £16m in 2024.

Pereira’s value in 2024

According to Football Transfers, the 28-year-old’s value now comes in at a lesser £2m, compared to his once grand £16m price-tag.

Of course, Pereira has aged since his days at the Hawthorns, but he did still find his time with Al-Hilal rather troubling after his electric stint in England, with only three goals picked up from 42 games playing for the Saudi club, before he moved back to his native Brazil this year after an initial loan spell with Cruzeiro.

Pereira’s decreasing transfer value since leaving West Brom

Even with his form picking up playing in Brazil, with ten goals and 14 assists registered so far playing for Cruzeiro, that hasn’t stopped Pereira’s value falling to a low £2m.

It’s a far cry away from Pereira at his Baggies peak, with the likes of West Ham United and Aston Villa once sniffing around for the standout West Brom man, who is now been largely forgotten about.

This tale might well have been different for the Brazilian if he stayed put at West Brom past those two electric campaigns, but the Baggies won’t be too bogged down by their former star’s struggles, as they aim to return to the top division come the end of the season where Pereira once shone.