Man United youngster Facundo Pellistri claims Jadon Sancho's £73m arrival pushed him to re-join Alaves on loan, as he insists 'the best thing for a player is to play'
* Facundo Pellistri left Manchester United to join Alaves on loan again in August
* He had hoped to remain at the Red Devils this term after playing in pre-season
* However, that changed once fellow winger Jadon Sancho joined the club in July
Facundo Pellistri has hinted that the summer signing of Jadon Sancho made him decide to leave Manchester United on loan in search of regular first-team football.
The Red Devils finally landed their long-term target in July, with Sancho joining in a £73million deal from Borussia Dortmund.
Sancho didn't join up with United until August, following his Euro 2020 commitments with England, but Pellistri left to re-join Spanish outfit Alaves on loan that month.
After playing in pre-season, Pellistri had outlined his intentions to remain at Old Trafford in July but that changed once Sancho signed for the club.
Facundo Pellistri has suggested Jadon Sancho's arrival made him leave Man United on loan. Fellow winger Sancho joined United in July for £73million from Borussia Dortmund
'I felt stronger in the first team, I scored in a game at Derby for the first team,' the 19-year-old told The Athletic when reflecting on his pre-season under Ole Gunnar Solskjaer this summer.
'It was a very hard pre-season, the hardest I've ever had. Physically, you are really pushed, the training is such a high level.
'New players came in, including in my position [Sancho] so I thought it was a good idea to go on loan again.
'The best thing for a player is to play, and for a young player, to get experience.'
Speaking in July, Pellistri spoke of his desire to remain at United this term but that changed. He is currently on loan at Alaves but United are reportedly unhappy at his lack of playing time
Since returning to Alaves, where he spent the latter part of last season on loan, Pellestri has featured seven times for the club this season.
However, according to reports are looking at terminating that loan - with the Premier League unhappy at his lack of playing time.
Goal claim United inserted a clause in the loan agreement with Alaves which allows them to terminate the deal early if the Uruguayan had not played 1,000 minutes before the start of December.
With under two months until that December deadline, the winger has been limited to just 195 minutes of football so far this season.
There is frustration within the United camp as there were other European clubs interested in the youngster and he could've had more more playing time elsewhere.
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