Erik ten Hag quickly realized how unbalanced Manchester United’s attack was when he first arrived.
United had many versatile attackers like Jadon Sancho, Anthony Martial and Marcus Rashford, but all of them preferred to play on the left flank.
Academy graduate Anthony Elanga was also tried on the right flank, after which Ten Hag insisted on Ajax winger Antony, on whom United ended up spending £85m.
LE problems
The Brazilian has started all three games since his arrival, which shows how important he is to the Dutch coach’s system.
In terms of a direct replacement, United have Facundo Pellistri, who has yet to be a competitive starter for the Red Devils but is already a national team starter.
Here we are @Uruguay ???????????? pic.twitter.com/vxox2i3JmR
– Facu Pellistri (@FPellistri07) September 18, 2022
He was seen in action again on Friday when he started for Uruguay against Iran and ended up playing the entire first half before being substituted.
He was rusty, which was understandable considering it was his first match back from injury. But he showed that he is part of Uruguay’s World Cup plans.
The former Peñarol star scored in Ten Hag’s first pre-season game against Liverpool and was the subject of loan interest from several countries.
However, an injury suffered in the penultimate game against Atlético de Madrid ended his chances of going out on loan and he was forced to stay at the Carrington.
Pellistri another option for ETH
That could turn out to be a blessing in disguise considering the condensed schedule of October and November. The Red Devils will play a total of 13 games in three competitions in just over a month.
That will force the United manager to rotate his squad and with a lack of right-wing options for Ten Hag, there is a chance the 20-year-old will finally get a chance to make his debut for the club he signed for. in 2020.
Pellistri has had two loan spells in the past, both with Alaves in La Liga and both spells did not go as planned. And that played a role, as United felt he wasn’t ready to make the jump to United’s first team.
This could be his best chance to make his United debut and if he can impress Ten Hag enough, Pellistri could end up staying at United rather than go out on loan in January.
