Manchester United rejected Penarol’s efforts to take Facundo Pellistri back on loan after the Uruguayan wonderkid signed for the Premier League heavyweights late in the summer window.
According to the Express, United parted with a fee in the region of £9M in order to secure the services of the highly-rated Pellistri. That will prove to be a small price to pay if he does develop into the player that those in his home nation hope he will become.
At just 18-years-old, and having had no previous football experience on this continent, you would think it unlikely that Pellistri would be a viable option for United’s first-team this season. However, these comments from Penarol chief Rodolfo Cantino suggest that a full United debut may not be far away.
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Cantino is quoted by the Express revealing that he wanted to take Pellistri back to Penarol on loan, but United were having none of it:
“Of course we asked for it. We tried in every way but they argued that they wanted the player now. It’s normal, when an European club buy a player, they travel immediately.”
“Pellistri [will go] straight to the first team. He’s going to play. In the negotiation they asked me if I could guarantee them if he was in the bubble because they need him.”
“Then it will be a matter of the manager if he uses him”.
It’s unclear whether Ed Woodward is actually keen to loan Pellistri to a more competitive league than his native Uruguay, or whether Ole Gunnar Solskjaer will genuinely count on him at points throughout the season.
When you consider that, up until a week ago, Mason Greenwood was the same age as him – perhaps it’s not unthinkable to suggest he could get first-team minutes under this belt this term.
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