Man Utd: Erik ten Hag risks next fallout as ‘late January transfer dilemma’ strikes | Football | Sport
Manchester United have agreed to sanction the club’s 11th exit of the January transfer window and send Facundo Pellistri to Granada on loan until the end of the season, according to reports. However, Erik ten Hag has yet to green-light the move, which risks hampering his relationship with the out-of-favour youngster.
Pellistri has been a peripheral figure since Ole Gunnar Solskjaer signed him from Penarol in the summer of 2020.
He is already an established Uruguay international, earning 18 caps, but has made just 24 appearances for United in the four years since his arrival.
This season, Pellistri has made 14 appearances, only three of which were starts at Bayern Munich in the Champions League and against Crystal Palace at Old Trafford in the Premier League and Carabao Cup.
He joined Amad Diallo as an unused substitute in Sunday’s 4-2 FA Cup win against League Two side Newport County, further plunging his hopes of minutes into doubt.
According to Fabrizio Romano, La Liga outfit Granada have offered Pellistri an escape route by agreeing on the terms of a short loan.
However, it’s claimed that the deal hinges on Ten Hag, who is delaying matters as he weighs up whether Pellistri needs to stick around.
The 22-year-old winger has been heavily linked with a United exit for most of the month, intensified by Alejandro Garnacho’s newfound success on the right this season.
Garnacho, Antony, and potentially Amad are now ahead of Pellistri in the pecking order, making a temporary or even permanent departure a serious option.
However, Anthony Martial’s latest fitness blow, and potentially his last of an injury-stricken nine-year United career, has changed the setting at Old Trafford.
Ten Hag was without a striker among his substitutes at Newport, with Martial sidelined until at least April and Marcus Rashford claimed to be ill.
Even with Rashford on the pitch, United won’t have a striker on the bench if Rasmus Hojlund is playing, too.
Pellistri, Amad and teenager Omori Forson are Ten Hag’s only alternative attacking options for the rest of the season.
That could prevent the Dutchman from sanctioning United’s 11th departure this winter, 10 of which have been loan moves.
Pellistri desperately needs regular game time, though, and he’s unlikely to get it at United, even during Martial’s latest spell on the sidelines.
Loaning him to Granada with the view of striking up his value before a summer sale makes sense. But Ten Hag is running low on firepower as it is and may decide to risk frustrating Pellistri by rejecting the deal.
