Loaning Amad to Sunderland is turning out to be a shrewd move for Manchester United as the winger continues to impress in the Championship.
His last six matches have seen him score four goals and provide an assist, with the technical dribbler finally breaking through to Tony Mowbray’s side after a rocky start.
And the manager has lavished praise on the Ivorian, particularly for adding a more direct goal threat to his game.
Mowbray even went so far as to say that Amad was currently keeping the most talented player in the Championship out of his team.
In my opinion, Patrick [Roberts] he’s probably the most talented footballer in this league, but I have to sit him in my office and [tell him] He’s not playing,” Mowbray said. “’Why am I not playing if you think I’m so talented?’
“Well, because this guy assists and scores goals, Pat, and with all due respect, you’ve scored two incredible goals in Reading this season and you’ve had some assists, but Diallo is on fire right now and plays in the same position. like you’.
“It’s incredible to think that Patrick is sitting on the bench. however, Amad’s goals and assists keep him out at the moment.”
Roberts, formerly of Manchester City, may or may not be the most talented player in the Championship. But it is a sign of the confidence Amad has earned that Mowbray chooses him over a player he believes to be the case.
Signed in January 2021, many United fans have not been impressed with his overall development.
Aside from flashes of talent in a couple of dead rubber matches with Ole Gunnar Solskjaer, Amad hasn’t made much of an impact at first-team level.
But that could soon be set to change, and his teammates have also noticed his improvement in recent months.
“Amad has had his own journey,” midfielder Alex Pritchard told the Sunderland Echo. “I watch football all the time and you see where he’s been before.
“Coming here, I don’t think he’s had a lot of playing time at Rangers, and he was one of them who came to Sunderland and needs to play and affect games.
“That’s what he’s doing right now, keep it up.
“The boy is still young and his head has a high price, but that is not his problem, it is out of his hands.
“He’s a down-to-earth guy, he obviously works hard, and you can see his qualities on the ball during the game. You never know where he might go.”
Former Black Cats defender Danny Collins even compared Amad to former Sunderland artist and All-Ireland star Aiden McGeady.
“It’s a pleasure to watch,” Collins said on Sunderland TV. You’re looking for me as Aiden McGeady, right?
“When Aiden was in his confident frame of mind, he was getting the ball wide open and you were on the edge of your seat thinking, ‘What’s going to happen here now?’
“Same with Amad for me. How old is she again? She’s probably 20 or 21 years old, but she’s matured beyond her age in terms of mentality.
“Listen, he went to Manchester United for £30m and he’s come here now. I’m not saying that he came here as if he had to prove himself, because you can see that there is a good player there, but he has come here and he knows that he is playing for a great club, certainly at this level.
“For me, it’s like I want to be the star of the show playing in a stadium like this.
“Give me the ball and let me show you what I have in the bag. Look at the tools I have and what I can produce and he’s doing week after week for us.”
Having finally put his unfortunate loan spell at Rangers behind him, Amad is showing that he has both the quality and the application to take his game to the next level.
And at only 20 years of age, she certainly has time on her side.
