Facundo Pellistri has given Erik ten Hag an unexpected Manchester United project

Exactly five and a half hours after Manchester United confirmed their first signing of transfer deadline day on October 5, 2020, they confirmed their third.

The club kicked-off their deadline day additions with the signing of Alex Telles from FC Porto, before later confirming the arrivals of free agent Edinson Cavani and promising youngster Facundo Pellistri from Club Atletico Penarol, completing a hat-trick of South American signings. Telles and Cavani arrived in M16 with the task of making an immediate impact in Ole Gunnar Solskjaer's first team, whereas Pellistri — who was only 18 — was one for the future.

He was an unknown name to almost everybody in English football but United had seen enough of him to sign him for £9million. Although he was an unknown figure, the deal had an element of excitement to it. Had United unearthed a hidden gem?

READ MORE: 'He is too good!' — Manchester United fans send Facundo Pellistri message after Uruguay heroic

Almost two years later, Pellistri is still waiting to make his competitive debut for United, with his only taste of first-team football at Old Trafford coming in the form of three pre-season friendlies. He featured in the clashes with Derby County, QPR and Brentford last July, scoring against the former.

With Jadon Sancho having been added to the squad during pre-season, Anthony Elanga breaking through and Amad chomping at the bit to prove his worth, it was always going to be a challenge for the Uruguayan to earn regular opportunities to impress. Therefore, in the best interests of all parties, he joined Deportivo Alaves ahead of the season starting in August. It marked his second spell with the Spanish club after spending the second half of the 2020/21 campaign on loan at