Facundo Pellistri has made it clear that he needs to be given minutes at Manchester United, telling Erik ten Hag: “I really want to start participating.”
Ten Hag has only been in the Old Trafford dugout for a matter of months, but is already facing a string of high-profile selection dilemmas, including the likes of Cristiano Ronaldo and Harry Maguire. Pellistri's is significantly less pressing, but he has gone public with his desire for more minutes.
The Uruguayan was signed by the Red Devils back in 2020, following their failed first pursuit of Jadon Sancho. But in the two years since his arrival, he has yet to make a competitive start for his parent side.
In that time, he has had two unsuccessful loan spells with Alaves and surprisingly broke into the national team set-up. But opportunities at a club level remain difficult to come by and he is yet to play under Ten Hag.
His situation under the new boss hasn’t been helped by an ankle injury he suffered in pre-season. But after returning for Uruguay during the international break and ahead of a gruelling fixture schedule, he has declared he is ready to be involved.
“I am happy to play again, and now Manchester will have an important string of games, so I also hope to get minutes at the club,” he told ESPN. “Erik ten Hag is a good coach, with a very clear idea; I really want to start participating in the team."
He added: "It had been a month and a bit since I entered a field like this. I am very happy about that. Although I injured my ankle at the end of July and I already feel good, I am not 100% yet because these injuries take time. But I'm still very happy with how I felt. To continue working to continue improving.”
With 12 United fixtures between now and the World Cup, Pellistri will be desperate to push his case to make the plane to Qatar - something which even he can admit looked a stretch just a few months ago.
“If a year ago they told me that I was going to have this present in the National Team, obviously I would not believe it, things happen very quickly and sometimes life surprises you with many things.
"You always dream of the World Cup, but I always say that you have to go step by step, you still don't have to think about the World Cup because there is still time.”
Despite being very much on the fringes in Manchester, Pellistri is continuing to make a name for himself with his compatriots. During the most recent batch of international fixtures, it was Barcelona ’s Ronald Araujo who heaped praise on the exciting youngster.
"I think Facundo Pellistri is surprising. Obviously, we know the quality Fede Valverde, Bentancur, Darwin [Nunez] have... We all know the quality they have, but Facundo has surprised me quite a bit,” Araujo explained to El Pais last month.
"Especially since he hadn't been playing. Also, because of the level that he gave in the national team, he was spectacular. We understood each other very well on the right wing. Facundo was the one who surprised me the most."
