Facundo Pellistri had to wait a long time for his Manchester United debut, more than two years after his October 2020 arrival from Penarol, in fact. But patience and hard work was a virtue then and it could prove to be again now that a void on the right wing has suddenly opened up.
Pellistri was only 18 when he joined United, recommended to then boss Ole Gunnar Solskjaer by former teammate and Old Trafford cult legend Diego Forlan. The Uruguayan impressed at reserve level but wound up testing positive for Covid-19 when it looked as though he might get a first-team chance in the FA Cup in January 2021. By the end of that month, he was loaned to Alaves.
Subsequently, Pellistri returned to Alaves on loan for the whole of the 2021/22 campaign as well to gain more senior experience. He was carrying an ankle injury at the start of last season, but began to frequently be named on the bench as Erik ten Hag put his stamp on the United squad.
In January 2023, his chance came, playing the final few minutes of the Carabao Cup quarter-final win over Charlton and setting up a goal for good measure. Premier League chances were fleeting, but Pellistri remained a near permanent fixture of the matchday squads and by the end of the season had made 10 senior appearances across all competitions.
So far this season, Pellistri has already appeared off the bench in half of United's games.
Competition for places on the flanks coming into 2023/24 promised to be tremendously fierce, with Ten Hag having Marcus Rashford, Jadon Sancho, Antony, Alejandro Garnacho and Amad Diallo at his disposal, in addition to Pellistri – all fighting for just two starting places.
It is why Pellistri took it upon himself to do his own individual training during his summer break, training in the Mexican heat before reporting back to Carrington for pre-season.
"You can't have holidays so you have to keep training during any holidays," the 21-year-old told United Review. "That's why everyone keeps pushing because the seasons are harder every time. And if we want to win everything, we have to train that way.
"It's how it is now. We want to play lots of games and, if you don't train, you can't do that."
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Pellistri's additional workload has served to boost his fitness to allow him to meet the demands of a modern, all-action winger, which includes defending as well.
"Wingers not only have to attack but they also have to defend," he said. "Before, you'd think 'I'm a winger, I just attack'. But, nowadays, you have to defend the same way that you attack. So that's why I had to train in Mexico because the players need to do all those things in the modern football."
Circumstances have changed significantly at United since the summer.
Amad’s promise after a successful loan at Sunderland last season was halted during pre-season because of injury. Sancho has struggled to kick on, appearing to fall out with Ten Hag over comments made by the boss about training performance that jeopardised his very place at the club – talks with Al Ettifaq failed to yield a deal last week, but he has since removed a pinned post on X (formerly Twitter) in which he claimed he was being scapegoated.
Antony is also staying away from the club indefinitely as a result of assault allegations that he denies made against him by three women. The Brazilian has been Ten Hag’s usual choice on the right flank since his £86m transfer last summer but will now remain in Brazil “until further notice”.
Pellistri's opportunity to consistently shine may have finally come.
LISTEN NOW TO 90MIN's MAN UTD PODCAST: THE PROMISED LAND
On this edition of The Promised Land, part of the 90min podcast network, Scott Saunders andRob Blanchette discuss Man Utd's options on the right wing and whether Facundo Pellistri is good enough to replace Antony!
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This article was originally published on 90min as How Facundo Pellistri prepared himself for sudden Man Utd chance.