With the summer transfer window fast approaching, it looks set to be another period of change for Manchester United, with manager Erik ten Hag seemingly keen to continue his squad overhaul at the club.
Among those who could be allowed to leave this summer is promising winger, Facundo Pellistri, with Manchester Evening News previously reporting that the 21-year-old may be set for a loan move ahead of next season.
While it does appear that it would be just a temporary exit for the young Uruguayan, there were reports prior to the January transfer window that suggested the 11-cap starlet was seeking a permanent departure amid his limited game at the club.
With the former Penarol ace – who signed during Ole Gunnar Solskjaer's tenure back in 2020 – having still made only nine appearances in all competitions this season, The Athletic's Laurie Whitwell has noted that the Red Devils 'may need to make a decision' on the forward at the end of the season, amid the prospect of raking in more than the initial £9m fee that they paid just under three years ago.
It would, however, seem a notable mistake if United were to cash in on the exciting "game changer", as hailed by CBS' Nico Cantor, with the 5 foot 9 sensation having shown flashes of his quality in his brief cameos this season.
Hailed as "scintillating" by Daily Express journalist Alex Turk following his involvement in the fourth goal against Real Betis last month, Pellistri has regularly made an impact off the bench of late, with Ten Hag set to make an error if he does not hand the diminutive youngster a more prominent role moving forward.
If the £20k-per-week ace is to move on ahead of next season on a permanent basis, the Old Trafford outfit risk a repeat of the sale of his compatriot, Diego Forlan, with the now-retired ace having gone on to thrive elsewhere after leaving Manchester.
Why did Forlan leave Man United?
There's no denying that it was a mixed time for Forlan during his two-and-a-half-year spell at the Theatre of Dreams, with the lethal marksman scoring just 17 goals in 97 games across all fronts, including ten goals in 63 Premier League outings.
While Sir Alex Ferguson was perhaps justified in his decision to move on the Montevideo native – who secured cult hero status after netting a brace against Liverpool in December 2002 – it will still have stung to see the striker go on to flourish in the years after his exit.
Having been signed from Independiente on a £7.5m deal in January 2002, Forlan was allowed to join La Liga side Villarreal for just £2m in the summer of 2004, ultimately netting 59 goals in just 126 games for the Spanish outfit.
A subsequent move to Atletico Madrid in 2007 also proved particularly fruitful for the 112-cap machine as he scored 96 goals in 198 games across all fronts, while also winning the Golden Ball at the 2010 World Cup after being voted the tournament's best player.
To have sold the one-time Inter Milan man on the cheap and then to have seen him blossom in Spain may be of regret to those at United, with the hope being that a similar scenario does not occur with Pellistri.
Forlan – who previously managed the wide man at Penarol – has given the youngster his vote of confidence, having only recently lauded his former asset's "great potential".
As United endured with Forlan himself, they can't afford to see Pellistri's 'potential' be properly fulfilled elsewhere.
