When the World Cup gets underway in Qatar this coming weekend, there will be a lot of attention focused on Manchester United. Although none of United's players will be participating in the tournament's opening game, fans will see plenty of familiar faces as the competition picks up the pace in subsequent games.
Even though the majority of United's key players are currently away on international duty, there is still a great deal of interest in seeing how one of their fringe players performs this month. The attention may be on how well players like Harry Maguire, Raphael Varane, and Casemiro do, but there is also a great deal of intrigue in seeing how well one of their other players does.
Facundo Pellistri has been a member of United for two years now, having joined the club on the final day of the summer transfer window. Penarol was compensated with £9 million for his services in addition to signing a contract for the next five years. Since then, he hasn't participated in any competitive games.
If Pellistri was not given a chance under Ole Gunnar Solskjaer's regime or under either of the two regimes that have succeeded him, there is obviously something that has been overlooked. However, the intrigue is only heightened when one considers how highly regarded he is in his native country as well as the leading role he is expected to play in the World Cup competition that will take place this winter.
Since making his senior international debut at the beginning of the year, the 20-year-old player has appeared in seven matches for their senior team and has only missed two of the matches they have played since then. Pellistri has been selected to play on the right wing of a front three alongside Darwin Nunez and Luis Suarez for all but one of those matches, and he has started every single one of those matches.
Ahead of the competition in Qatar, he has been given the No. 8 shirt, and all signs point to him taking the field once more when they face South Korea in their opening match on Thursday.
In spite of the fact that Pellistri's future at United appears to be in jeopardy regardless of how well he plays in the upcoming month, it is possible that this development signals the beginning of the end for his career with the club.
The young Uruguayan player was named an unused substitute for a consecutive 12 matches leading up to the World Cup; however, he was not included in the squad that played Fulham over the weekend because he was given permission to join up with his national team earlier than expected.
Despite the fact that Pellistri has been scoring goals in friendlies against Derby County and Liverpool in consecutive summers, he has not yet made his debut in a competitive match despite the fact that his reputation is growing.
It was early in the previous year when he had a successful stint on loan with Alaves, but he struggled mightily after returning to the club for the previous campaign. It had been planned for him to leave on loan during the summer of 2018, but those plans were scrapped after he suffered an ankle injury during a preseason match against Atletico Madrid.
Now, his next move could end up being a permanent one rather than a temporary one. Pellistri is desperate for significant playing time next year and has little interest in sticking around at United when his pathway to the first team is blocked. Pellistri has little interest in staying at United when his pathway to the first team is blocked.
One gets the impression that if he were ever going to get a real shot at it, he would have done it by now. Therefore, the next step in his career that makes the most sense is for him to transfer to a club where he can compete for a starting spot.
The World Cup will almost certainly have some bearing on that outcome, as is only natural. An outstanding tournament might convince Erik ten Hag to give him a shot once he's back, but it's more likely that it will just increase how much United can ask for him the following season.
The other challenge that Pellistri must overcome is the difficult task of displacing Antony on the right wing. This is a challenge that Pellistri must overcome regardless of how well he performs. Given the enormous fee that was paid for him, how important he already is to the team, and the fact that he is a huge fan favorite at Ten Hag, that seems impossible.
Even more so when you consider that he is already a full-fledged international and that United signed him for more money than they had previously spent on players such as Chris Smalling and Javier Hernandez, it would be a tremendously unfortunate turn of events if he were to leave United without ever having played in a competitive game for the club.
All of these different aspects add to the mystery surrounding Pellistri. Because he hasn't been given the opportunity to prove himself at United, we can't say for certain whether or not he has what it takes to be successful there.
At the very least, the upcoming week ought to provide us with our first look at what he truly entails. The club season may have been put on hold due to the World Cup, but Pellistri will be able to resume his after the tournament is over.
Alphonsus Odumu 5 w
Enigma