Manchester United winger Facundo Pellistri looks destined to suffer relegation on loan at Granada with the La Liga strugglers sacking the man who brought him to Spain on Tuesday morning.
While Jadon Sancho does appear to have turned a corner – scoring fine goals last week against Werder Bremen and against PSV Eindhoven in the Champions League – most of the players loaned out by Premier League giants Manchester United during the January transfer window have had little reason to celebrate.
Donny van de Beek is yet to make any sort of an impact at Eintracht Frankfurt. Ditto Hannibal Mejbri at Sevilla.
Manchester United loanee destined for relegation
Facundo Pellistri has, at least, been a standout performer for Granada. But with the rest of the Uruguayan’s team-mates struggling to reach his standards – Pellistri scored one and assisted another during a 3-3 draw with Barcelona on his debut – the former Penarol ace looks destined to suffer relegation from Spain’s top flight for the second time, having gone down with Alaves back in 2022.
Pellistri, per Granada’s sporting director, ‘rejected many clubs’ to join the Andalusian outfit in January. He may now be wishing he hadn’t, the manager who signed him and has been pull of praise for his impact handed his P45 on Tuesday following a third straight La Liga defeat.
“The Granada Football Club and coach Alexander Medina terminate the contract that bound them,” reads a statement on the club’s official website.
“The Club thanks Medina for his commitment and wishes him the best of luck in his professional future, as well as his coaching staff.”
Granada manager sacked
Pellistri has not yet tasted a win in any of his six Granada appearances,losing 5-1 at another of the clubs who showed an interest in signing him; an upwardly-mobile Villarreal outfit.
Granada are now 13 points adrift of safety, with Medina’s replacement – Jose Ramón Sandoval – facing an almost impossible task.
Pellistri’s future at club level, meanwhile, remains up in the air. His agent indicated recently that a permanent departure may be pursued if Erik ten Hag stays on, the Dutchman handing Pellistri only one league start during the first half of the campaign.