Facundo Pellistri could be set for his first Premier League start against Brighton on Saturday after spending the week working with Marcelo Bielsa’s Uruguay set-up.
The winger has enjoyed just 20 minutes of first-team football at United this season – from four games – but suddenly it looks like Pellistri will have an opportunity to impress.
Following a fall-out between Jadon Sancho and Erik ten Hag, as well as domestic abuse allegations against Antony, a gap has opened up o the right side.
Ten Hag could opt to play Mason Mount and Bruno Fernandes on the right against Brighton, but I think most fans will be hopeful of seeing Pellistri in the line-up because he is direct and should get plenty of service into the box for Rasmus Hojlund.
During the international break, Pellistri has began to work under Bielsa, formerly of Leeds United. He took the role earlier this year and looks to be a fan of the United winger because he started on Saturday against Chile in their opening 2026 World Cup qualifier.
Following the 3-1 win, Pellistri detailed what he has learnt under Bielsa.
“Nahitan [Nandez] (Uruguay teammate) makes it much easier for me in terms of overflows because he is constantly overflowing and passing me,” Pellistri told ESPN on Sunday. “So it makes it easier for me and I can give it to him so that he can shoot the centre.
“I take a role a little more inside. The dynamic of the team, once the ball is recovered, is to go with many players on the attack, so more than anything the ones who overwhelm the most are the full-backs.
“He [Bielsa] talks to us a lot individually, shows us corrections and wants a very dynamic team, with fast players, and to go out and press and triangulate quickly. It says a lot to me that he generates spaces behind the defence.
“He also really wants us to come back to help the defence and be a team together, so I think that was a bit of what was seen against Chile: the explosiveness when it comes to attacking when it recovers and also when it comes to having to defend.”
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