Manchester United fans can be sure that Erik ten Hag has one eye on the future as much as the here-and-now. His usage of Alejandro Garnacho, Kobbie Mainoo and Facundo Pellistri shows that. The latter is the latest youngster to excite Reds fans.
Pellistri, 21 years old, has been impactful in all of his first-team appearances, grabbing an assist on his January debut against Charlton in the League Cup and all but doing the same for Wout Weghorst’s goal against Real Betis in his latest outing.
Some United fans will say his showings have justified their earlier calls for the winger to have been brought into the set-up sooner. They may point to the fact that he made his World Cup bow before his United senior debut.
READ MORE: Erik ten Hag sends message to Facundo Pellistri
His agent was also quick to highlight this and was vocal about finding his client a new club on loan if Pellistri wasn’t granted game time. Ten Hag’s inclusion of him in the subsequent win over Charlton was anything but a bow to that request, though.
The reason behind Pelistri’s introduction may go back to Ten Hag’s time at Ajax. Frenkie de Jong (not an academy product), Donny van de Beek and Matthijs de Ligt were all standout young stars in the club’s domestic successes and 2018/19 Champions League semi-final run.
They all went through a process that has become commonplace at the club, even before Ten Hag’s tenure. Ajax have traditionally produced exceptional talent from their academy and 'B' side and largely kept the same philosophy throughout.
It was to slowly feed game time to blood young stars and then when they’re ready - to trust them. The aforementioned trio were all in-and-out of the side, or at least slowly built into it, upon their arrivals and breakthroughs.
They were already playing when Ten Hag arrived in December 2017 but they soon became outright staples in his side after assessing their quality. Ten Hag adopted the same club approach with Ryan Gravenberch.
The midfielder, now 20, was filtered slowly into first-team football before becoming one of the first names on the team sheet prior to his switch to Bayern Munich last summer. This process was evident in Garnacho’s rise.
The youngster impressed on his stints in the side before being handed his first senior start. He was soon lining up against Real Sociedad and netted his maiden first-team goal.
Garnacho has some way to go before becoming a staple - Ten Hag has already challenged him to do more when beginning a match having started 10 of his 28 appearances.
But the signs are there and a bumper new contract is on the way, encapsulating the trust bestowed in him. Fans can expect the same approach with Pellistri and Mainoo.
The former is yet to make his full debut, while Mainoo’s first senior game was a start against Charlton. Pellistri has made two more appearances than his colleague in the period since (five overall) with Mainoo being used tentatively too.
Ten Hag has always underlined that he does not give appearances out on a whim and youngsters have to earn their spot. That’s a brutal reality for the unplayed Zidane Iqbal, who has trained with the first-team squad all season.
But Ten Hag has earned the right to be trusted with the development of Pellistri and co thanks to his work with Gravenberch but more aptly Garnacho. Uruguayan Pellistri is showing the hallmarks of a bright talent, but patience, time and nurturing are key.
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