Facundo Pellistri will soon know exactly where he stands at Manchester United
Man Utd have few options for the right flank against Brighton but Facundo Pellistri still isn't guaranteed a start.
Facundo Pellistri won't get a better chance to start for Manchester United.
Facundo Pellistri won't get a better chance to start for Manchester United. (
Manchester United are back in action on Saturday and for once the struggles on the field will come as a nice distraction to the chaos off it. United have had to release more club statements over the international break than they've had wins so far this season and the positive atmosphere Erik ten Hag built up over his first year in charge is coming under peril.
The last thing they need is a match-up against Brighton, a team they have lost their last three Premier League meetings to by a score of 7-1. Playing the high-flying Seagulls is hard enough at the best of times but when United are low on confidence after an underwhelming start to the season and appear to be engulfed in disarray, it becomes even harder. Especially when there are hardly any right-wingers to call upon.
Antony is unavailable as he is on a leave of absence after facing allegations of abuse from three women in Brazil. Jadon Sancho has been frozen out of the first team after publically calling out Ten Hag.
The manager said after the defeat to Arsenal that Sancho was left at home due to his poor performances in training, which the winger hit back against and denied in a now-deleted tweet. Talks between the pair this week did not resolve the issue, so Sancho is unavailable indefinitely.
That leaves Facundo Pellistri as the only senior right-wing option available as Amad Diallo remains sidelined. But labelling the Uruguayan as 'senior' is a stretch given he is yet to start a Premier League game and has made just 12 appearances for United in three years.
Despite showing promise in those rare cameos, Ten Hag has been reluctant to give Pellistri any significant or meaningful opportunities to prove himself. If that doesn't change on Saturday, then it never will.
As well as Antony, Sancho and Amad being out, Mason Mount is also unavailable due to injury. Though a central player, he was a viable option for the right flank given Ten Hag wants the former Chelsea man to press high up the pitch.
United have struggled with Mount in a double pivot as a result of his pressing, with Casemiro repeatedly being left to fend for himself. With Christian Eriksen alongside the Brazilian instead of Mount, United had their most secure and compact performance of the season against Arsenal.
But without Mount there, Pellistri must be chomping at the bit to finally get his chance. It's hard to assess how good the 21-year-old actually is given his lack of minutes, but in the majority of his appearances, he has looked sharp, direct and exciting. Pre-season is where we have seen him the most and, though only friendlies, he has regularly scored and assisted.
Pellistri regularly makes an impact when coming off the bench. His almost old-school approach to wing play, where he aims to run at and past his defenders and get into dangerous positions, is a thrilling change of pace to United's other options. The different dynamic he provides makes it perplexing why he hasn't played more, at which point you're relying on the manager who sees him every day in training's judgment.
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