It’s been a wild Premier League season for Manchester United this year, and we are only 11 games in.
Erik ten Hag was finally given the sack after another dreadful start to the campaign, and Sporting CP’s highly rated Ruben Amorim was hired to replace him.
The 39-year-old has built quite a reputation for himself in a relatively short time thanks to his progressive and effective tactical setup, which saw him guide the Lisbon-based outfit to their first league title in 19 years a couple of seasons ago.
One of the key aspects of his tactical setup is the 3-4-3 formation, and while he’ll likely find a way to make it work with players he has at Old Trafford, he might be annoyed by Ten Hag’s decision to sell someone who would have made an ideal wing-back under him, a player whose valuation has exploded this season.
Man Utd's 2024 departures
Before we get to the player in question, let’s look at some other sales United made over the summer, starting with someone having an incredible season: Scott McTominay.
The Scottish international joined Serie A giants Napoli for around £25m in August and has immediately become one of their most important players, scoring three goals and providing two assists in just ten appearances.
Moreover, he’s playing a significant role in the club’s surprise title push, as it was his equalising goal against Inter Milan at the San Siro last week that kept the Partenopei atop the table heading into the international break.
A player who has had a more mixed season since leaving is Aaron Wan-Bissaka, who joined West Ham United for £15m in the same month.
Now, it’s not been plain sailing for the full-back in East London, as the Hammers are currently sitting 14th, but he has at least been getting plenty of game time and has ten starts and one substitute appearance to his name so far.
However, while his valuation hasn’t increased much this year, the valuation of one of his former teammates sold in the same month has.
The former United ace whose valuation has skyrocketed
The player in question, who could have been an ideal wing-back for Amorim, is Facundo Pellistri.
The 30-capped Uruguayan international was sold to Greek Super League outfit Panathinaikos for an estimated £6.8m in late August, following four years at United in which he made just 25 first-team appearances and was sent out on loan three times, twice to Alaves and once to Granada.
Now, you may expect a player who’s been on so many loans in a short space of time to fade into relative obscurity after being sold by a team like United, but instead, the 22-year-old gem, who was once dubbed a “wonderkid” by talent scout Jacek Kulig, has been having an excellent campaign in Greece.
Penarol
37
2
4
Alaves
35
0
0
Man Utd
25
0
2
Granada
15
2
2
Panathinaikos
15
2
1
He’s made 15 appearances so far, in which he’s scored twice and provided one assist, and has clearly shown that he’s still a serious talent, as the CIES Football Observatory now value him at up to €19m, which is about £15.8m, or a 132% increase on the fee he cost in the summer.
With that said, why would he make an excellent wing-back for Amorim?
The primary reason is that, in the manager’s system, he unsurprisingly uses his wing-backs as primarily attacking players, and the Montevideo-born gem has spent much of his career playing out on the wing, both on the left and right.
Moreover, he’s also got some experience playing at right-back, as Ten Hag played him there in the Community Shield this season, and he’s also played in that position for Uruguay.
Therefore, he’d have the attacking experience to make an impact at the sharp end of the pitch and know what to do when the team revert to a five at the back shape.
Ultimately, none of that matters anymore, as Pellistri’s focus is squarely on helping Panathinaikos this season, and while Amorim may begrudge Ten Hag’s decision to sell him, we would be surprised to see the club activate their buyback clause.
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