Does Amad Diallo deserve a place in the Manchester United squad?Are cries for Amad to start justified?
Amad Diallo received just 390 minutes of playing time in the 2023-24 season following a promising campaign on loan at Sunderland the previous season.
However, the Ivorian suffered an injury during a preseason match against Arsenal and would not return until December 30th for a 37-minute cameo after coming on for Antony.
After a bright preseason ahead of the 2024-25 season, there have been increasing demand for Amad to be given a chance to see what he can do but do fans have a case?
Who is Amad Diallo?
Amad Diallo was born on 11th July 2002 in Côte D’Ivoire before moving to Italy age 12, signing for Boca Barco in 2015.
While there, he caught the eye of Serie A club Atalanta and from there he quickly rose up the ranks and made his debut on 27th October 2019, making an instant impact four minutes later from the edge of the area.
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The following season Manchester United came knocking and they signed Amad for a reported £19 million plus add-ons on 5th October 2020.
He made his Manchester United debut as a substitute in a 4-0 win over Real Sociedad in the Europa League in February 2021.
The young Ivorian would not have to wait too long for his first goal, as on 11th March in a match against AC Milan, Amad rose to meet a trademark piercing ball from Bruno Fernandes to give United the lead.
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Loans to Rangers and Sunderland followed, after he failed to cement his place in the starting lineup, only managing 6 more appearances for the Red Devils.
He impressed on loan at Sunderland, claiming the PFA Championship Fans’ Player of the Year award as well as Sunderland’s Young Player of the Year after scoring 14 goals, making him their top scorer for that season.
His injury in preseason last season against Arsenal meant he missed half the season while recovering and he did not get the correct preparation for the season which might be a reason for his lack of game time even after he recovered from injury.
What kind of player is he?
At 5’8”, Diallo is not among the tallest players in the Premier League.
Instead, he is a tricky winger who can play as a midfielder, possessing a lot of pace and a great level of agility as well good technical ability which has allowed him to perform well when given a chance.
He scored 14 goals in all competitions while at Sunderland and last season in 3 starts he scored 2 goals and assisted 1.
The most memorable moment of Amad’s career so far was a goal against Liverpool in a 4-3 extra time victory in the FA Cup.
In this match, he came on as a late substitute in normal time and with mere minutes remaining, he slotted the ball into the bottom right corner to send Manchester United to Wembley.
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Why he should be given a chance
Ahead of the Community Shield against Manchester City, calls have been getting louder for Erik Ten Hag to start, what many see as, one of his best talents.
The game would give Amad the perfect opportunity to impress his manager and due to injuries to Antony and Rasmus Højlund and with new signing Joshua Zirkzee only having participated in a couple training sessions and therefore not quite up to speed it provides Ten Hag with limited options, one of which is to play Amad in such an important game against United’s neighbours.
Amad provides a great threat to City’s backline and up against either Kyle Walker or Croatian Joško Gvardiol he can compete because he is quick and very direct not being afraid to take players on.
A very impressive preseason gives Amad a strong case to start on a regular basis in the Premier League.
