Facundo Pellistri has admitted he is looking for more minutes this season as the forward prepares for Manchester United's opening pre-season game against Liverpool.
The Red Devils take on Jurgen Klopp's side in their first friendly on July 12 in Bangkok, with Pellistri amongst those to have travelled to Thailand on their pre-season tour. United also face Melbourne Victory, Crystal Palace, Aston Villa, Atletico Madrid and Rayo Vallecano before their Premier League opening day clash against Brighton.
It is poised to be a hectic few weeks for the Red Devils with matches every couple of days and Pellistri could be handed a chance to impress, like he did under Ole Gunnar Solskjaer this time last year. The Uruguayan scored in United's 2-1 pre-season win at Derby County - his first senior goal since joining the club for around £10million from Penarol in October 2020.
However, the 20-year-old was sent out on loan for the campaign to Alaves after previously spending six months at the club at the back end of the 2020/21 season. After failing to score in 35 matches for the Spanish club, Pellistri is hoping to bounce back and get more minutes under his belt this term, admitting he wasn't "happy" with how last season played out.
"Right now, I want to feel good again after the holidays, well trained, more than anything because this year is very important both at club and national team level," he told Ovacion.
"You have to be ready for everything and prepare well. I want to have the maximum continuity of minutes to try to arrive well.
Will Facundo Pellistri break into the Manchester United first-team this season? Let us know in the comments below!
"I’m not looking for a particular league. It’s easy to say ‘earn minutes’ because nobody promises them to you, and you have to earn them. It’s a complicated search, but I’m going to try to find the best option to play, show myself and feel good."
"I didn’t leave Alavés very happy, because I hardly played in any games," he added.
"I left with a wonderful club, a wonderful group of people, a wonderful medical team and a wonderful staff. In that sense, even though it was complicated in terms of football, that whole period in Vitoria was wonderful.
"They never gave me a reason, but well? Every manager is different. Maybe they liked different things to what I could give them, and that’s totally respectable.
"It’s up to the coach to decide. I always gave my best, I trained 100%, and I was ready to play. The balance is negative. I would have liked to play more."
