Sheffield United are keen on signing Manchester United winger Facundo Pellistri before the deadline.
Reports this week have claimed the Blades are in talks with the Red Devils for Pellistri. The Uruguayan winger has been involved for the Manchester club this season but is likely to move out on loan still.
According to the Manchester Evening News, United and Erik ten Hag are happy to authorise a loan move for Pellistri.
However, there remains a number of obstacles for the Blades to overcome before they do pull the trigger on the signing of Pellistri.
The MEN reports that Paul Heckingbottom is still shaping his transfer plans and it remains to be seen whether he will use one of his two Premier League loans on Pellistri. Further, Pellistri could also be offered a new contract at Old Trafford before he leaves, further complicating things.
The final consideration for the Blades and Heck is that Pellistri’s age now means he would be registered as one of the 25 players. The winger misses the cut by just two weeks, where he’d be classed as an under-21 player and thus leaving a space in Heckingbottom’s official PL squad.
United are also still keen on signing James McAtee from Man City and in reality, the Blades boss would probably prefer a player who knows the club over an unknown like Pellistri.
Sheffield United News View: Decision time looming
While Heckingbottom has said he is prepared for things to go to the final day with loan signings, United can’t afford to wait too long.
Yes, the game with City this weekend means there’s no mad rush really. It’s a free hit game and making 2-3 more signings isn’t going to swing that one in our favour.
However, United fan ill-afford to hang around too long. There is a chance we miss out on McAtee and Pellistri if we do that and that would be a nightmare.
If Pellistri is there for the taking, then it’s one we should go ahead with. After all, we can still go for McAtee as well and use the European loan market to fill other slots if needed.