"Surprised me quite a bit" - Barcelona defender Ronald Araujo makes honest admission on Manchester United youngster
Barcelona defender Ronald Araujo admits that he has been pleasantly surprised by Manchester United youngster Facundo Pellistri.
Araujo was asked which player from the Uruguay national side was impressing him the most, he told El Pais (via Somos Invictus):
“I think Facundo Pellistri is surprising. Obviously we know the quality that Fede Valverde, Bentancur, Darwin have… we all know the quality they have. But Facundo Pellestri surprised me quite a bit."
Pellistri joined Manchester United from Primera Division side CA Penarol in 2021 for £7.65 million.
The winger spent the second half of the 2020-21 season and the whole of last season on loan at La Liga side Deportivo Alaves.
He made 35 appearances for Alaves and returned to Old Trafford this past summer.
However, Pellistri has found game time hard to come by at Manchester United and is yet to make a senior appearance for the Red Devils.
Araujo alludes to this whilst continuing to shower the youngster with praise:
“Especially since he hadn’t been playing. And more because of the level that he gave in the national team, that he was spectacular. Besides, we understood each other very well on the right wing. Facundo was the one who surprised me the most, yes."
¿𝗟𝗶𝘀𝘁𝗼 𝗽𝗮𝗿𝗮 𝗲𝗻𝗰𝗮𝗿𝗮𝗿?
👀 ¿𝗟𝗶𝘀𝘁𝗼 𝗽𝗮𝗿𝗮 𝗲𝗻𝗰𝗮𝗿𝗮𝗿?
#ElEquipoQueNosUne https://t.co/Zb0wNfGb0N
The winger's contract at United runs until 2025 and it remains to be seen if he will feature in Erik ten Hag's plans.
This will be clear when the Red Devils compete in domestic cup competitions this season.
A Carabao Cup encounter with Aston Villa on November 10 is on the horizon and Ten Hag may experiment with his squad in that competition.
Meanwhile, Pellistri is part of the La Celeste squad that will play friendlies against Iran and Canada in the upcoming week.
Gus Poyet joins Barcelona's Araujo in praising Manchester United winger Pellistri
Pellistri's importance to the Uruguayan national side is obvious given the plaudits that are coming his way.
Former Chelsea midfielder Poyet has advised the youngster to leave Manchester United for more first-team action ahead of the 2022 FIFA World Cup.
He said (via TeamTalk):
“It would be good for him to go somewhere and play, because the World Cup is around the corner and he is very important for the Uruguay team because the coach [Diego Alonso] has lots of faith in his ability, he’s a proper winger."
Here we are @Uruguay 🫡🇺🇾 https://t.co/vxox2i3JmR
Meanwhile, Barcelona's Araujo is guaranteed to be a key player at the World Cup with Uruguay.
He has earned 11 international caps and reportedly could have joined Pellistri at Manchester United before putting pen-to-paper on a new deal with Barcelona in April.