Manchester United have just made another sale this summer and it was an expected move.
Manchester United have already brought in around £51m in additional funds through player sales this summer, but this amount is set to grow. This is a refreshing change in attitude to getting rid of players from previous years which has seen average players at the club for far too long.
Mason Greenwood was sold to Marseille, Aaron Wan-Bissaka has headed to West Ham, Willy Kambwala is now at Villareal, Alvaro Fernandez joined Benfica and Donny van de Beek has headed to Girona.
Now, Facundo Pellistri is joining this list, four years on from his arrival at Manchester United. An established Uruguayan international, Pellistri will now play for Panathinaikos in Greece.
The details of Pellistri’s move to Panathinaikos are that he will cost just £6m upfront, with an additional £1.7m in add-ons and a 30 per cent sell-on clause. It represents an initial loss on the £9m spent to bring him in from Penarol.
Manchester United only have themselves to blame
When Pellistri arrived, it looked to be an inspired move from the recruitment staff at Manchester United, with fans only having grainy highlight videos to go off which had him almost resembling a mini-Messi.
But quite quickly after his arrival it became apparent that a move to United may have been a bridge too far for him, and he has made just 25 appearances for the Red Devils since then – failing to score a single goal.
In 2020 when he had joined, Argentina legend Riquelme had even weighed in on the move with praise for Pellistri, labelling the Uruguayan as being “young and talented”, before he continued to laud him.
“He hasn’t played that much but you can see he is a real rascal with the ball at his feet. And that is important.
“There aren’t many like him around, who have the courage to be so cheeky on the pitch. That is highly valuable.”
Due to how highly rated he was upon arrival, it is easy to understand why there may be disappointment over how he has turned out, but United can only blame themselves.
A string of poorly planned loans saw Pellistri struggle to improve and grow his value – an issue which we have seen multiple players suffer from at Old Trafford, United must improve this.
Pellistri was sent to Alaves twice, and Granada, playing under a string of bosses as the relegation-battling teams changed managers amid their poor league positions.
In each case, he was set up to fail, playing for struggling teams which saw little possession, and at times draining his confidence.
Pellistri can still have a great career
While it will not be at United, Pellistri could go on to have a great career if he finds success in Greece.
Playing for a team which will dominate most games domestically will be massively beneficial for Pellistri who on his loans was sent to bottom half La Liga teams where he got little chance to shine on the ball.
Uruguayan boss Marcelo Bielsa is among Pellistri’s biggest fans, using him consistently for Uruguay which proves he has something – even if it has not emerged at United.
We would not be surprised to see that the 30 per cent clause comes in very handy, but United might be left wishing they had handled his development better.
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