Manchester United boss Ole Gunnar Solskjaer has defended Andreas Pereira after the midfielder came in for more criticism following Sunday's 2-2 draw with Aston Villa.

Pereira has only missed one Premier League game for the Red Devils this season and again played the full 90 minutes against Villa at Old Trafford.

The 23-year-old has only managed one goal and one assist in 13 league outings this term, though, and a number of supporters have been highly critical of the attacker's form this term.

Solskjaer has launched a staunch defence of the Brazilian, however, insisting that the former PSV Eindhoven youngster is "improving all the time".

"Andreas is improving all the time," the Manchester Evening News quotes Solskjaer as saying. "He's a young boy working hard every single day to improve his game and he's played a few games this year.

"We found, more or less, his position; he's an attacking midfielder. Of course, when you lack your three more experienced ones with Nemanja [Matic], Paul [Pogba] and Scott [McTominay], Andreas has to cover that role and he's doing a job for the team."

United, who are languishing down in ninth position in the Premier League table, will attempt to return to winning ways on Wednesday night when they host Jose Mourinho's Tottenham Hotspur.