Amad made his first start on loan at Sunderland in the Championship last week. It did not go too well, with Black Cats boss Tony Mowbray criticising him after the game for trying to ‘score the perfect goal’.
The Manchester United loanee was dropped to the bench at the weekend, featuring for the last few minutes as a substitute.
Last night he was dropped down into Sunderland’s under-21 side to get more game time.
Amad drops down into Sunderland under-21s
Amad was a surprise starter for Sunderland’s under-21s on Monday night as they took on Leeds.
He failed to make a decisive impact, with Leeds winning the game 1-0.
Amad did get vital minutes under his belt, and this may benefit him in the long run. However, it is not a great sign that he had to drop down in the first place.
Sunderland’s next fixture is against Blackburn on Saturday, and manager Mowbray would have been looking at the under-21 game and hoping Amad might perform strongly and give him a tough selection decision.
As it stands, the Ivorian could be back on the bench at the weekend, although with another match next Tuesday night, Amad should see some involvement.
The Manchester United loanee has only played 167 minutes of Championship football this season since joining Sunderland, so the idea of giving him extra game time at youth level wasn’t an unwise one.
Amad had a productive record for Manchester United’s under-23 side when he played, but last night’s match was not one he will look back on with any fondness.
This is Amad’s second loan spell, following a stint at Rangers last season. There is a long way to go this season, and United may re-assess Amad’s situation at Sunderland in January.
For now, he needs to use this ‘drop down’ to Sunderland’s under-21s positively, as extra motivation to make his time at the club a success. Hopefully the extra game time will have helped him sharpen up, for whenever his next first team opportunity comes.
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