South American expert Tim Vickery has questioned why Crystal Palace are not interested in a loan deal for Manchester United starlet Facundo Pellistri.

What's the word?

Vickery has revealed that the player is unhappy with his game time at United and wants a loan move for regular football amid interest from a number of clubs.

One of those clubs is Botafogo in Brazil, who share an investor with Palace in John Textor.

Speaking on Sky Sports News, Vickery questioned why Botafogo were interested in the player but Palace seemingly aren't, given that United would likely prefer Pellistri to be loaned to a European club than going back to South America.

He said: "He's unhappy with his lack of first-team opportunities. I think that was his first chance that he got in the week [against Charlton Athletic]. He only had a few minutes and impressed there.

"He's frustrated. He wants first-team opportunities and I think he would want to go out on loan to a place that's going to use him.

"Now, there is a move here from Botafogo of Brazil. Botafogo are now owned by the American, John Textor, who's got a stake in a number of clubs including Crystal Palace. And this makes the Botafogo angle a little bit strange, because if you're United, the last thing you'd want to do is loan this player outside of Europe - that doesn't do anything for his transfer value.

"So quite why it's Botafogo and not maybe Crystal Palace is something of a mystery."

A place to develop

Palace have a number of promising attacking talents on their books in Michael Olise and Eberechi Eze, and Patrick Vieira's side is becoming an excellent place for young talents to thrive.

This was particularly shown in Conor Gallagher's successful loan spell at Selhurst Park last season, and United could be keen for a starlet like Pellistri to earn Premier League minutes in a team like Palace.

With Gallagher ending up sticking around at Chelsea, it is clear that there is a potential pathway to first-team football one way or another for Pellistri if he was to move to south London. However, with no approach seemingly on the cards, it does seem baffling that Eagles stakeholder Textor appears to be allowing Palace to turn a blind eye to what looks like a superb opportunity.