Amad Diallo: Manchester United’s £37m diamond

Amad Diallo is probably still in the euphoria of Sunday’s FA Cup game against Liverpool. The Ivory Coast winger scored his first goal of the season and second overall for Manchester United in the Reds’ net. Let’s take a look at his football career so far.

Where did Amad Diallo grow up in football?

Amad started professional football with Atalanta in Italy, where he transferred at the age of 13. In 5 years, the African played almost 100 matches for the Italian club’s youth teams, 98 to be precise. Although small in stature, he was one of the key players of his teams and a record of 38 goals and 30 assists clearly proves it.

The coaches of Atalanta’s first team could not fail to notice the obvious talent during the Covid-19 pandemic. In the match against Udinese, he was given 13 minutes on the pitch, during which he managed to assert himself and contributed to a high 7:1 win with his debut goal.

In January 2021, Manchester United made an offer and Amad moved to England for £37 million. The Red Devils bought a player who had played less than 4 games at senior level for a considerable sum. However, Ole Gunnar Solskjaer has let it be known towards the player that he is one of the most talented footballers ever.

Manchester United

During the opening half of the season, Diallo didn’t get much space to shine. Only in the first round of the spring Europa League, when he started both games against Real Sociedad, but only for a few minutes each time. He got more space in the opening match of the eighth round against AC Milan, where he jumped in right at half-time and rewarded the Norwegian coach with the only goal of the match, helping the Red Devils to a draw.

He played as a substitute a few more times before the end of the season, scoring an assist in the match against Leicester City, which the Red Devils lost 1:2. During 3 starts for United’s youth team in the Premier League, the African scored 4 goals and 3 assists.

In the autumn of 2021, however, Amad received almost no space in the A-team and was therefore sent on a six-month loan to Scottish Rangers. In Scotland, however, he only appeared in 13 games in which he managed to score 3 goals. However, on the way to the Europa League final, he didn’t get a minute of space on the pitch.

Away at Sunderland

You could say that last season was Diallo’s first complete season in senior football. Manchester United chose second division Sunderland as the ideal destination for their winger. And this choice proved to be very correct during the season.

He scored 14 goals and 14 assists in 42 games. Sunderland even made the play-offs for promotion to the Premier League thanks to him. However, Luton won the double-header after 2-0 and 1-2 results. Amad contributed to Sunderland’s narrow win with a goal.

Current season

The player himself was looking forward to returning to Manchester, as he believed that under Erik ten Hag he would get space. Unfortunately, right at the beginning of the season came a complication in the form of a knee injury that sidelined the winger until almost the end of the calendar year. Diallo isn’t getting too many chances even now, so for him, the winning goal in the FA Cup against Liverpool could be a ticket to more workload.

Source: Manchester United