Manchester United wildcard might finally be set for bigger role after teammate's departure

Facundo Pellistri has surely done a good job of convincing his manager, Erik ten Hag, that he is ready for more minutes this season. His pre-season form has been impressive, with the winger scoring a last-gasp equaliser versus Athletic Bilbao in Dublin on Sunday.

Having failed to feature in the first two pre-season games, Pellistri came off the bench against Arsenal for Amad Diallo, who managed only three minutes before sustaining injury. The 21-year-old played well – he could have scored in the 86th minute but skied his effort over the bar.

Rather tellingly, Ten Hag selected Pellistri for the following friendly against Real Madrid, which featured a squad full of first-teamers, rather than the match against Wrexham. The latter match was earmarked for youngsters.

He featured in both the games versus Real Madrid and Borussia Dortmund, starting against the German side and playing for over an hour.

Read more: Facundo Pellistri speaks out on Manchester United future

His finest moment of the whole pre-season came in the final minute of the entire tour.

Athletic Club had held out defensively for the duration of the game and held a one goal lead thanks to Nico Williams's strike before half-time. After 66 minutes, the Basque club were reduced to ten men, thanks in part to Pellistri’s tireless pressing. Hannibal Mejbri found himself one-on-one with Bilbao’s goalkeeper Unai Simon before Aitor Paredes took him out with a last-man challenge, resulting in a clear red.

As time wound down, Pellistri found himself latching onto a loose ball in the box, hitting an impressive half-volley past a dejected Simon in goal. This friendly was full of fringe players, with the first team playing 24 hours earlier in Manchester. Pellistri did,