Erik ten Hag is using Ajax philosophy to develop Facundo Pellistri and next Manchester United generation

Manchester United fans can be sure that Erik ten Hag has one eye on the future as much as the here-and-now. His usage of Alejandro Garnacho, Kobbie Mainoo and Facundo Pellistri shows that. The latter is the latest youngster to excite Reds fans.

Pellistri, 21 years old, has been impactful in all of his first-team appearances, grabbing an assist on his January debut against Charlton in the League Cup and all but doing the same for Wout Weghorst’s goal against Real Betis in his latest outing.

Some United fans will say his showings have justified their earlier calls for the winger to have been brought into the set-up sooner. They may point to the fact that he made his World Cup bow before his United senior debut.

READ MORE: Erik ten Hag sends message to Facundo Pellistri

His agent was also quick to highlight this and was vocal about finding his client a new club on loan if Pellistri wasn’t granted game time. Ten Hag’s inclusion of him in the subsequent win over Charlton was anything but a bow to that request, though.

The reason behind Pelistri’s introduction may go back to Ten Hag’s time at Ajax. Frenkie de Jong (not an academy product), Donny van de Beek and Matthijs de Ligt were all standout young stars in the club’s domestic successes and 2018/19 Champions League semi-final run.

They all went through a process that has become commonplace at the club, even before Ten Hag’s tenure. Ajax have traditionally produced exceptional talent from their academy and 'B' side and largely kept the same philosophy throughout.

It was to slowly feed game time to blood young stars and then when they’re ready - to trust them. The aforementioned trio were all in-and-out of the side, or at least slowly built into it, upon their arrivals