Manchester United boss Erik ten Hag appears to have softened his stance on an Ole Gunnar Solskjaer signing that seemed to have no future at Old Trafford under the Dutchman.
Initially, it looked as if Facundo Pellistri was not in Ten Hag's plans for the former Ajax boss' first season at the helm, but after making three appearances in January, there may still be life in the young Uruguayan's United career yet.
The 21-year-old first arrived at the club back in 2020, while Solskjaer was still in charge after the Norwegian received a tip-off over Pellistri's ability from fellow former United striker Diego Forlan. However, it was hardly a dream start for the winger, who took just under two-and-a-half years to make his Red Devils debut.
This lengthy wait for a first bow sparked fear among some of Pellistri's fellow countrymen, who were concerned a crucial stage of his development was being scuppered by failing to get any game time at Old Trafford during the opening half of this season.
One of those who publicly called for Pellistri to leave was Premier League legend Gus Poyet, who expressed his fears over Pellistri's chances of representing his country at the Qatar World Cup that took place just before Christmas.
"Pellistri will struggle to get game time," the former Chelsea ace told Midnite last year. "It would be good for him to go somewhere and play, because the World Cup is around the corner and he is very important for the Uruguay team because the coach [Diego Alonso] has lots of faith in his ability, he’s a proper winger."
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Poyet's fears, though, were not realised, as Pellistri failed to find a move away from Old Trafford before the tournament and featured in all three of Uruguay's World Cup group stage fixtures before they were eventually dumped out of the competition.
In those three games, Pellistri clearly performed well enough to prompt a rethink from Ten Hag. Having not handed the winger a single minute from the start of the season up to the festive period, the United boss has since given him a run out on three separate occasions.
All three have come off the bench and in domestic cup competition, which suggests Ten Hag doesn't trust the 21-year-old quite enough to thrust him into Premier League action just yet.
His cameo appearances in two Carabao Cup ties and the recent FA Cup victory over Reading have been positive on the whole and while there is still a raw element to Pellistri's game, it looks like has a part to play in Ten Hag's United plans after all.
