Manchester United have undergone so many “rebuilds” in the post-Sir Alex Ferguson era that it’s pretty much impossible to mark any transfer as an outright success.
Bruno Fernandes probably stands at the top of that queue and Noussair Mazraoui, all things considered, is arguably already on that list.
The Ineos transfer policy looks to be well-intentioned and planned, a departure from the scattergun recruitment under the previous ownership regime.
- READ MORE: Manchester United confirmed signings, transfers in, out, loan exits, releases for 2024/25
However, even a broken clock is correct twice a day, and when Ole Gunnar Solskjaer said Man Utd had signed ‘one of the most exciting young prospects’ under him, uncertainty at the time has transformed into a prophecy now.
Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s tall praise for a youngster
The year is 2020 and Manchester United have fluffed yet another transfer window in a play straight out of the Glazers’ playbook.
Solskjaer had achieved Champions League football so what’s the point of strengthening the squad further? That’s what the Glazers did every time UCL qualification was ensured and the Norwegian had the same situation.
Donny van de Beek came in who was probably not fancied by the Man Utd manager at the time, and so did Alex Telles in a cut-price deal.
Edinson Cavani was a panic free transfer that turned out better than it had any right to be, credit to the player, and there were two more panic buys on deadline day.
They were shamelessly paraded as first-team signings by a board that wanted to portray any semblance of positivity it could find after a nightmare window that had fans seething.
Nearly four years after that window, one of those signings has already left Old Trafford, making a grand total of 25 first-team appearances but the other one has had quite a journey.
That player, of course, is Amad Diallo, signed from Atalanta on deadline on October 5, 2020, deadline day, but who would only arrive in Januar 2021, so badly thought out was the signing at the time.
Just 18 at the time, everyone knew Amad wasn’t ready for first-team football but the board didn’t care. They paraded him as a coup when he clearly needed time.
Solskjaer gave the platitudes to the player as the consummate club professional he was, calling him ‘one of the most exciting young prospects’ in the game.
He said: “As a club, we have followed Amad for a number of years and having watched him myself, I believe he is one of the most exciting young prospects in the game.
“Manchester United has such a proud history of developing young players and everything is in place to enable Amad to reach his potential here.
“It will take time for him to adapt but his speed, vision, and fantastic dribbling ability will stand him in good stead to make the transition. He is a player with all of the raw attributes that are needed to be an important player for Manchester United in the years to come.”
Solskjaer’s words were hopeful then, they’re prophetic now
Anyone who followed Amad’s career under the Norwegian now knows that those words from him were more hope than expectation.
He played a grand total of 280 first-team minutes after arriving in January and the situation wouldn’t get much better next season either.
Amad would go on a failed loan with Rangers which set him back further and there was a strong possibility that the raw attributed Solskjaer talked about would remain raw, at least until he left United.
That was partly true since those attributes became polished after leaving the club on loan, moving to Sunderland ,and tearing the house down in the Championship.
The rest is history, as Amad survived yet another manager who didn’t believe in him- Erik ten Hag.
The Ivorian kept his head down and worked hard on his game and the long-overdue breakout is now happening, making the Norwegian’s words in 2020 prophetic.
In many ways, Amad has succeeded despite Man Utd, instead of because of the club, who, under the Glazers’ haphazard ownership, set him up for failure.
He can hopefully kick on now under new ownership and manager to save the face of the previous regime.
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