Louis van Gaal paved the way for Manchester United to move for Pedro by admitting he needs more quick, creative attacking talents now that Angel Di Maria has been sold.
Di Maria, who was United's £59.7 million club record signing last year, joined Paris Saint-Germain for £44.3 million on Thursday.
And Van Gaal said he believed it was the only "solution" to the "problem" that Di Maria had become.
But he accepted the loss of the former Real Madrid problem leaves a hole in his squad.
He said in a news conference: "Di Maria, we have solved that problem but it is for us a big loss.
"When I say I want more attackers with speed and creativity, Di Maria is one of those players so we have to look for those kinds of players."
Di Maria struggled to settle in England, despite showing fine form in his first couple of months, and lost his place in United's strongest side after he was sent off in March's 2-1 FA Cup defeat to Arsenal.
"He started very well," Van Gaal added. "That is not the problem. He has a very good start. He knows the answer better than I know but it happens and then there is only one solution, what he has done."
And Van Gaal said it is always a risk to bring in another player from a different league and a different country.
"Of course they have to have the talent to cope with the English rhythm and that is difficult to find," he explained.
"That is mostly also why players are not having success in this competition because of the rhythm of the game. The English culture is another culture from the Latin culture. You never know. As a manager you never know.
Winger Pedro, who has scored 98 goals in 318 games for Barcelona, has never played in England, as Di Maria had not before he joined United, but has a £22 million release clause in his contract and has emerged as a target for Van Gaal.
Last week, Van Gaal suggested that the club need to sign a player in the mould of Barcelona forward Pedro.