Manchester United and the need for a new right-winger has been a tale that has been going on for over a decade now.
Angel Di Maria was originally the man to solve these issues, then Jadon Sancho (£73 million) and now Antony (£86 million), right-wingers have struggled under the harsh pressure of Old Trafford
Well, there’s one man who hasn’t been given his big chance yet in the Manchester United team and who could solve their £159 million problem, Amad Diallo. The Ivorian winger joined the club under Ole Gunnar Solskjaer for £37 million.
This was an expensive figure to spend on a teenager, but it could work out quite cheap if he can finally provide the solution, as all other attempts to do so have failed so far. We’d say he has got a real chance.
To date, injuries and managers not giving him opportunities has meant Amad looked a little lost up until last summer. A loan move to Sunderland really kicked off his career, however, and now there are hopes for the 21-year-old to start for United when he returns from his latest injury.
Amad’s time in Sunderland
“I think Manchester United are happy, but I think the next step is for them to take Amad on pre-season to America,” Sunderland boss Tony Mowbray told the Metro at the end of the last season about the possibility of keeping Amad.
“That’s what I think is going to happen. Then they’ll see how he gets on. I’m sure [Erik ten Hag has] been watching Amad’s clips from games. He’s been magnificent.”
This acceptance of Amad returning to United highlights just how well the winger did in the North East. With 13 goals and three assists, he was named in the EFL Championship team of the season by Sky, with his average rating for the season being 7.03.
In fact, his final few games for the Black Cats before he returned to Old Trafford showed how well he had adapted to English football (ratings via Sofascore).
- 8.8 rating vs Hull City
- 7.9 rating vs Cardiff City
- 8.0 rating vs Birmingham
- 7.4 rating vs Huddersfield
- 6.8 rating vs West Brom
- 6.7 rating vs Watford
- 6.9 rating vs Preston
- 7.5 rating vs Luton (h)
- 7.0 rating vs Luton (a)
United’s need for Amad
A creative player like Amad doesn’t come along very often. The poise he possesses on the ball and in tight spaces is a joy to watch and his knack for goals has been missing from the frontmen at Old Trafford this season.
According to FBREF, he was the second-best winger in Europe’s top five leagues for his pass completion rate as well as in the top 20 for successful take-ons.
Marcus Rashford remains the only forward to net in the Premier League. The directness and guile but also, crucially, Amad’s creativity would be a stark contrast to what has been seen from other players in his position this season.
The Ivorian is already back on the training ground and will be hoping to stake his claim in the side under Erik ten Hag. Manchester United need him to come good.
Receive a digest of our best United content each week direct to your mailbox
