Forgotten man Facundo Pellistri is backing Manchester United to continue to make progress under Erik ten Hag, despite looking all the more likely to leave the club.
The Uruguayan, who spent last season on loan at Spanish club Alaves, is, according to his agent, set to leave Old Trafford following the World Cup. Despite joining the club in October 2020, he is still awaiting his debut and has often been overlooked by Ten Hag this season when realistic opportunities have presented themselves.
The 20-year-old has been named on the substitutes bench ten times this term but has not been called upon by Ten Hag once, even when the Reds were starved of wide players in their recent wins over West Ham United and Real Sociedad. It was hoped that Ten Hag, who took a liking to young talent during his time at Ajax, would give Pellistri the opportunity to try and get his Old Trafford career off the ground.
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But despite not being given as much as a chance to prove himself in United colours, Pellistri, to his credit, has spoken glowingly about Ten Hag, backing him to continue leading the club along a path of progression.
"Ten Hag really likes to press up high and for the team to be the protagonist," Pellistri told ESPN. "You can see that United are starting to at least win more games and I think that by the end of the year things will go well."
Although United have experienced some bumps in the road so far this season, with the 6-3 defeat to Manchester City and the 4-0 battering at Brentford being the biggest, they have made sufficient progress in a very short space of time. They are just a point outside the top-four and look a strong bet to finish inside the Champions League places.
Meanwhile, Pellistri has also waxed lyrical about Cristiano Ronaldo. The youngster has hailed the 37-year-old for his professionalism and how he always showed an interest in how he was recovering from a recent injury.
The winger added: "What most caught my attention about Cristiano Ronaldo? When I saw him I was impressed by him, but yes, he is always one of the first to arrive and one of the last to leave.
"Besides, he's very human; as much as he is one of the biggest stars that exist in football and in the world, he is always attentive to everything. He always greets me and asks me about my injury.
"As a person he is incredible, as a player we already know what he is."
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