Facundo Pellistri might have expected a first Manchester United start on Saturday in the FA Cup, but the Uruguayan's wait goes on.
The winger joined United in 2020, but spent last season on loan at Alaves and played for his country at the 2022 World Cup before making a long-awaited debut for his parent club. His bow came in the quarter-finals of the EFL Cup against Charlton and was followed by a slightly longer run-out against Nottingham Forest in the semis.
With second-tier Reading visiting Old Trafford in the FA Cup fourth round, some might have expected the 21-year-old to feature from the start. Instead, it was just a 22-minute cameo from the bench, and he was warned such a thing might happen.
Before the game, manager Erik ten Hag suggested he wouldn't give players minutes just for the sake of it. He was true to his word, naming an extremely strong team for the 3-1 victory, but youngsters Pellistri and Alejandro Garnacho were both introduced from the bench after clamouring for the pair to start.
“I never, never let players get opportunities,” the Dutchman told club media. “A player has to deserve opportunities and they’re doing that by their performances on the training pitch, by their performances when they are on the pitch on the match day.
“That’s what I expect and they did quite well. We have seen Garnacho already over a long period and Pellistri is now coming in.”
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Ten Hag had earlier suggested Pellistri would not be allowed to leave on loan in January, despite the winger having yet to make a Premier League appearance. "We have our ideas and for some players we are open for loans but some players we are not," he said.
"I think they have to develop first in our environment and second, we have many games to cover, and so we need players to cover that. When you play in 30 days 10 games, you need a lot of players. The way we put [players] on, on Wednesday, Pellistri, that's already a signal."
Other fringe players, however, could be allowed to leave on loan. Brandon Williams and ZIdane Iqbal have been similarly starved of minutes, and Williams was an unused substitute on Saturday.
United cruised into the fifth round after two goals from Casemiro and one from Fred helped them beat Reading, with Amadou Mbengue pulling one back late on. Next up for Ten Hag's team is the second leg against Forest, with a 3-0 lead to protect after a Marcus Rashford-inspired win at the City Ground, while United's next league game coming at home to Crystal Palace on February 4.
