Amad Diallo was only Man Utd winger to survive Ruben Amorim cull

AT THE club famed for wingers, Amad was briefly the only one at Manchester United.

Since the 23-year-old returned from a season-long loan at Sunderland in 2023, United have sold Anthony Elanga, Alejandro Garnacho and Antony, Jadon Sancho has embarked on three separate loans and Marcus Rashford two.

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Until Bryan Mbeumo arrived just in time to board United’s July flight to Chicago for their pre-season tour, Amad was the sole senior winger in Ruben Amorim’s squad.

In an era where United no longer dole out contracts ten a penny to improve the asset sheet, Amad was one of two players to sign a renewal last term. The other was Bruno Fernandes.

On Saturday, the Ivory Coast international returns to where his United career properly got going – without playing for his parent club.

Amad left Sunderland a cult hero after 14 goals in 2022-23, a campaign that ended with a Championship semi-final defeat to Luton.

United were so pleased with Amad’s progress that they arranged for him to be fitted for an FA Cup final suit, yet he was on international duty.

Sunderland hosted Amad for their victorious play-off semi-final against Coventry last year when he was introduced on the pitch at half-time and given a standing ovation.

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He can expect another grateful hand when he returns with United on Saturday. Doubts over Benjamin Sesko’s fitness mean Amad could be restored to the starting XI.

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Amad returns to his old club in a funk. He was hooked at half-time in United’s home win against Brentford last week and then dropped for the visit of Liverpool.

He replaced the injured Sesko at the interval and his first contribution was to unwittingly assist Dominik Szoboszlai.

After 11 goals last season, Amad has only two this season. Until March, the numbers did him a disservice as his selflessness and directness sharpened the United attack.

He struck up an immediate rapport with Mbeumo in pre-season and their right-sided collaboration suggested there was a future for Amorim’s 3-4-2-1 system.

It is not a coincidence that matters took a turn for the worse for Amorim after Amad and Mbeumo left for international duty at the Africa Cup of Nations. United won one game out of six without them.

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Amad returned for Michael Carrick’s first game back in charge against City and was instrumental in United’s performance of the season.

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Carrick has consistently spoken warmly about the winger.

“I actually think he’s playing well,” Carrick said last week. “In terms of goals and assists, I think there’s an awful lot more in the game, playing in a winning team like he is, to worry about numbers.”

Carrick was on the coaching staff when a masked Amad jetted into Manchester in January 2021 with the Covid-19 pandemic still impinging on the public’s freedom.

Recruited from Atalanta in a £37million deal, Amad was a rare club-led signing by United back then.

His biggest defender was John Murtough, who would be appointed the inaugural United football director in March 2021.

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During his loan at Sunderland, Murtough was adamant that Amad needed a ten-game starting run to demonstrate his qualities. When Amad was granted that privilege by Tony Mowbray, he scored six times.

Alex Neil was actually the Sunderland manager when Amad joined on loan. Neil fled to Stoke City less than a month into the season.

That would ordinarily spell the end for a loanee, but Amad weaved a spell under Mowbray.

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Mowbray, who recovered from bowel cancer last year, recorded a video message for Amad that was played for him at United’s Carrington training complex on Wednesday.

“You’re going to make me cry,” Amad said after watching it. He likened Mowbray to a “father figure”.

Erik ten Hag was so sceptical of Amad he did not afford him a start for nearly five months after he recovered from a knee injury in the second half of the 2023-24 season.

Ten Hag started the callow academy winger Omari Forson (zero appearances for Monza this season) over Amad in a damaging 2-1 defeat to Fulham in February 2024.

Amad eventually won the Dutchman over and the new Ineos regime considered him to be one of the United squad’s integral players in the summer of 2024.

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Amad switched between No10 and wing-back under Amorim and was the only winger to survive the Portuguese’s cull.

Three weeks after Amorim’s first match in the dugout, Rashford and Garnacho were bombed out of the matchday squad for the Manchester derby in 2024. Fittingly, Amad won that contest in the 90th minute.

Four of Amorim’s five-man ‘bomb squad’ last summer were wingers. Sancho and Antony were expensive errors never cut out for United and the club have cut their losses on both.

Academy graduates Rashford and Garnacho both favoured a change of scenery just weeks after working with Amorim, who encountered attitude issues with both.

Amad played at wing-back in Amorim’s first match and that willingness has set him apart from his peers at United.

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He missed the away defeat at Brentford in September due to a family bereavement but was back the following week to help ease the strain on Amorim with a 2-0 win over Sunderland.

The Stadium of Light holds dark memories for Carrick, on the pitch when he and his United teammates discovered Sergio Aguero had changed the ribbons on the Premier League trophy in May 2012.

Returning there may brighten Amad up.

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