Who is Facundo Pellistri? Man Utd's promising young winger

Stuart Telford

• 29 Oct 2022 15:21 BST
• 4 min read

Facundo Pellistri is on the cusp of being handed his first-team debut for Manchester United by Erik ten Hag. Football Transfers has the skinny on the Uruguayan winger…

Pellistri was scouted by United as a teenager, and joined the Red Devils from Uruguayan giants Penarol for a little under €10 million in October 2020 at the age of 18.

He spent the first few months at Old Trafford playing for the club's reserve team, for whom he scored three goals and assisted one more across Premier League 2 and the EFL Trophy.

Four months later and player and club decided that senior first-team football would be better for his development, and he spent the next season-and-a-half on loan at Alaves.

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Now also a full Uruguay international, with three assists in seven games for his country, Pellistri is back at Man Utd and ready to impress.

What position does Pellistri play in?

Pellistri is a right-footed winger who prefers to line up on the right-hand side but can also be used on the left flank or even as a second striker, meaning he could slot into more than one position in Ten Hag's preferred 4-2-3-1 system.

How good is Pellistri?

Good enough to line up in a Uruguay attack which can also boast Darwin Nunez, Edinson Cavani and Luis Suarez.

READ: Pellistri could solve Man Utd transfer problem and save the club millions

Pellistri has earned his country's faith perhaps quicker than his employers', but he shouldn't have to wait long for a breakthrough at Old Trafford.

"He was injured, [for a] long period," explained Erik ten Hag. "[Against] Atletico Madrid, [he got a] bad injury. So he is now returning. We have some young players in the background in offensive positions.

"Quite good competition there and they have to battle for it to convince us, to convince me to be in the team, and he is one of the options."

What clubs are interested in Pellistri?

Another loan spell, to either Spain or Italy, has been mooted for Pellestri, while Olympiacos were credited with an interest this summer. Pellistri's immediate future would seem to be with United, though.

When does Pellistri's contract expire?

Pellistri's contract with United runs until 30 June 2025.

How old is Pellistri?

Born on 20 December 2001, Pellistri is 20 at the time of writing.

What is Pellistri's Instagram?

Facundo Pellistri's Instagram has 578K followers as of October 2022.