Pellistri is with the national team after receiving his first senior call-up for the important World Cup qualifiers against Paraguay and Venezuela.
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Acclaimed former Uruguayan striker Diego Forlan has backed his fellow countryman Facundo Pellistri to break into Manchester United‘s first team in the future. Pellistri, who is currently on loan at Alaves in La Liga, is with the national team after receiving his first senior call-up for the important World Cup qualifiers against Paraguay and Venezuela. The international call-up will be a massive boost for the younger winger, who has made six starts for Alaves during his second stint with the club. Pellistri only turned 20 last month and Forlan, who was his manager for a spell at Penarol, only had good words to describe him.
“I think he’s adapting really well,” Forlan, a former Manchester United forward, told club media. “When they [United] talked to me about him, I told them everything – he has great potential as a player, good skills, is quick but still young.
“You know it’s not easy to arrive at a great club like Manchester United. I think being on loan at Alaves was good and now he had an opportunity to go back again. It’s a good opportunity for him, he’s still growing a little bit. In the future, he can have the opportunity to play for the first team at Manchester United.”
Pellistri, who joined Manchester United in October 2020, enjoyed a positive pre-season last year, scoring in the friendly victory against Derby County. When Uruguay face Paraguay on Thursday and Venezuela on the first day of February, the youngster will hope to be involved, as will Edinson Cavani.
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Manchester United interim manager Ralf Rangnick wants Marcus Rashford to continue the purple patch he is currently enjoying. He scored the late goal for Reds to secure a thrilling 1-0 Premier League victory over West Ham United on Saturday. As a result of it, Rashford has now scored twice in two games for United, having scored the third goal after coming from the bench in Wednesday’s 3-1 win against Brentford.
As a next step, Rangnick wants Rashford to keep this level going consistently. “He is one of the top strikers in England. He is an English international who regularly played in the Euros,” said Ralf.
“We all know what kind of quality he has. He has got almost everything that a modern striker needs. He has got the pace, the skills, he has got the size, the physicality of the striker and in the end it is all about confidence for strikers.
“I am pretty sure that those two goals have raised the level of confidence within Marcus. Now it is about taking the next steps and showing that on a regular basis. It is about continuity now. I think he can play a very important role for the rest of the season for us.”
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