Manchester United loanee Facundo Pellistri hopes his impressive performances with Uruguay result in him being given further game time at Alaves.
The 20-year-old was a surprise inclusion in Diego Alonso’s World Cup qualifying squad given his lack of game time in La Liga this season.
But Alonso had been following the winger’s progress since he was at Penarol, and when he made the “jump” to Manchester United the Uruguay coach was also “attentive” to Pellistri’s “evolution”.
After making his debut for the two-time World Cup winners in the 1-0 win against Paraguay, Pellistri dazzled in the 4-1 win against Venezuela, where he set up Uruguay’s second goal with a mazy run which showcased his dribbling skills, composure and final product.
But with the two remaining South American World Cup qualifiers not taking place until next month, Pellistri’s immediate focus is on improving his fortunes at club level.
After missing Alaves’ 3-1 loss at the weekend due to “muscle fatigue”, Pellistri is hoping his breakthrough on the international scene has caught the attention of his club boss José Luis Mendilibar.
In his interview with ‘Punto Penal 10’ via AS, Pellistri said: “Now I don’t have many minutes at Alavés but I hope that these performances can help me to get the coach to give me more time. I will work every day in training to be prepared.”
Manchester United did have the option of triggering a clause in Pellistri’s loan deal which would have seen the Uruguayan international recalled in January, but the Reds opted against doing that.
Pellistri is on loan at Alaves until the end of the season but there was a loan cut-off clause if he did not play a certain number of minutes, which happened.
Pellistri added: “It is true that in January there was the possibility of returning to Manchester but it was all very fast and in the end we decided to continue here.”
The two-time Uruguay international has played 679 minutes for the La Liga side this season across all competitions.
But out of those 21 appearances, only six have been top-flight starts.
Although Pellistri doesn’t know whether he will form part of the Manchester United first team next season, or be sent out on loan again, his short-term focus is helping Alaves preserve their La Liga status.
Pellistri concluded: “I will be giving everything until the end of the campaign, let’s hope that Alavés will continue in La Liga next year and then we will sit down with United to see if I return to England or if the loan to another entity is studied for next season.”
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