Manchester United signed two new wingers in October, with Facundo Pellistri and Amad Diallo agreeing deals.
The former arrived straight away. But the latter only rocked up at Old Trafford this month having secured a work permit and a visa.
Yet it could be Diallo who leapfrogs his new United teammate, with a debut in the FA Cup a distinct possibility.
Pellistri signed for United in a £9million deal (BBC) but has been in the under-23s thus far. Prior to being side-lined, the Uruguayan scored twice for the second string.
Diallo could ultimately cost £37.2million (BBC) and big things are expected of the Ivorian winger.
At first glance, it seemed United had signed two right wingers. After all, that was where Diallo made his impact for Atalanta and where Pellistri made his first three U23 appearances for the Red Devils.
Yet the latter only discovered his goal-scoring boots for United after switching to the left, finding the net in consecutive games before getting an outing at centre forward.
The future looks bright
Pellistri is not the only versatile winger on United’s books. Diallo may be a long-term hope for the right side, but the 18-year-old can also function on the left flank or centrally if required.
In short, United have signed two wingers who can play in the same starting XI, not just compete for one spot.
In time we should see Diallo and Pellistri in the same XI for the U23s and it will be interesting to see how they fare.
It is their job to prove they can boss the wings as so many great United wingers have done before them.
Who knows, they could yet prove to be as effective as Ryan Giggs and Andrei Kanchelskis were all those years ago.
They are arguably the last wide pair to perform consistently in the same team. After all, Nani was too inconsistent and David Beckham was not a winger in the conventional sense.
United have often had one great winger – including the best of all time – but rarely have they had two.
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