The games for Manchester United are intense and fast, as they are the only Premier League team that is fighting on all four fronts this season.
Manager Erik ten Hag knows the importance of the depth of the squad, but it is also important that the players are happy but hungry.
One of his biggest dilemmas in recent weeks has to do with the short—term future of two wingers – Anthony Elangi and Facundo Pellistri.
Elanga was the breakout star of last season, while Pellistri had to wait more than two seasons for his debut, which eventually came in a Carabao Cup quarter-final win over Charlton Athletic.
ETH to choose between Pellistri and
Elanga, by the way, the Dutch coach put him in place of the ineffective Swede, and the Uruguayan certainly distinguished himself by making an assist and striking with his overall versatile game.
The Swedish national team player is attracting interest from clubs such as Everton and Bournemouth, as well as Bundesliga giants Borussia Dortmund.
In the case of Pellistri, in addition to loan offers from Watford, Valencia and Flamego, there are also permanent applicants in the person of Botafogo and Bologna.
As Jadon Sancho returns to training, there is a chance that one of these two highly rated youngsters will be given the chance to leave and play regularly.
🗣️ Ten Hag on Facundo Pellistri’s #mufc debut: “I am happy with that performance and I’m happy with his development, we brought him in [to the team] and we think he has a future here at Manchester United.” [MU] pic.twitter.com/5xm5NbzcnY
— UtdTruthful (@Utdtruthful) January 18, 2023
And at a special fan event organized by the club’s media department, the former Ajax manager seemed to hint that the Uruguayan could be left behind after his impressive cameo.
“He only played for 10 minutes, but he made a very good impression. He had to wait a long time for this, because he needs to earn playing time in our squad. There are others who also deserved it, but didn’t even come.
“He worked for a long time and proved himself. At that moment, he showed that he was ready.”
Pellistri’s cameo could tip the situation in his favor.
In addition to making a big contribution to the game, the manager also seemed impressed by his hard work and firmness in defense, which he brought after entering the field.
For a youth deprived of minutes, the Uruguay national team player showed tremendous maturity during his cameo, including not trying too hard to score and going deep when required.
“He had some really good actions, he was active and got an assist, but also [he made] a good contribution in terms of defense, he was reliable and took responsibility.
“I’m happy with this performance and happy with his development, we brought him [to the team] and we think he has a future here at Manchester United.
