Passing weight really seems a strength of his. Seems a similar profile of player to certain Argentine.
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You can just tell that in natural talent alone Amad is right up there with the best in our squad.
He oozes technical ability
That's the one thing that jumped out from the brief snippets of his time at Napoli. Yes, he's nimble and technically gifted but it's much rarer for a teenager to not only have the vision to spot diagonal runs but to also perfectly weight passes into the striker's path. He's a talented boy.
Wow great pass
Nice ball. His technique is sick. Once his physical side catches up he’ll be some player.
Maybe Amad will be involved in the final? Off the bench of course
I think even more impressive than the pass was the vision. The speed of the whole action. I watched it over and over and the thing I noticed was the position Dan James was in when Amad first got the ball. It’s not as if James was on the shoulder, Amad has spotted the run and played the right pass in an instant. Usually with kids his age it is head down.
I think he also needs to adapt to the higher tempo of the games. He seems only starting to think what to do after he receives the ball. (This is apparently not true)
If he can make the decision a fraction of second earlier and anticipates earlier. He will be superb. I actually feel he just needs more game time to get there. Well, he is still a young kid!
I’m confident he’ll be a very special player. Our scouts seem to have identified him years ago and after long studies, concluded he was the second best in the world at his age. You can also only imagine the sort of conversations that took place behind closed doors to convince the club to pay what, in theory, made no sense to pay at the time. From the little I’ve seen, you can see he has something special.
Yeah true I’ve just rewatched, James makes a great run also to be fair but he’s actually behind Amad so that’s some vision to spot the run, but the weight and angle on the pass though.
Dan James was glad he scored the goal until he turned his head and "feck me it's Amad.
Our very own little magician.
I see AWB switched off again.
When he turned, he had that, "I shoulda done that the other day" look.
Why?
It was a great pass to be fair.
Amad is very raw still. I mean he looks so raw that even loaning him this year may not be possible. Best for him if he stays with the first team and U23 for a year, see how he develops and then loan him. I highly doubt he will be ready for regular start in next 2 to 3 years.
He will be 19 in July. If one really wants to compare development then I think Bukayo Saka can be a good example. Both are almost of same age, play similar position, height built wise almost similar. Saka is still not fully developed, but enough to get many PL games. Amad needs to reach closer to Saka's development to start getting PL games. (please note, I am comparing development, and not talent)
Having said that, judging an 18 year old is unfair as some kids bloom late. Potential is definitely there so who knows.
He will be 19 in July. If one really wants to compare development then I think Bukayo Saka can be a good example. Both are almost of same age, play similar position, height built wise almost similar. Saka is still not fully developed, but enough to get many PL games. Amad needs to reach closer to Saka's development to start getting PL games. (please note, I am comparing development, and not talent)
Having said that, judging an 18 year old is unfair as some kids bloom late. Potential is definitely there so who knows.
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I don't think he's as raw as being made out. Looks ready to play a squad role which as a teenager bodes well. I think he can take Dan James' place in this team.
I am not sure if he is that raw. As far as I am concerned he basically needs to be used to the tempo of the PL football and which can come from pre-season training and then he can contribute. He has already got 5 goals and 4 assist for us in first team and U23 in 531 minutes (1 goal and 1 assist in 263 minutes in first team football). Too little to conclude he won't be a first teamer next season.
He is so raw that twice he got into his own teammate, one occasion he got accidentally fouled by his own teammate. His touch is very good, ball control is there. But when a player starts a position in PL for united then he is expected to command that position. He is just not reached to that level.
But yeh, if Dan James is our highest bar in right winger position then anyone can take his place. But that's not what we want!
I don't think that's the expectation of your 3rd /4th choice RW which is what you'd expect of Amad at the age of 18. Besides, he'll improve the more he plays.
Dan James is not the highest bar, he's a squad player and not even good enough for that . Amad looks like he can replace his place in the squad in due course.
First thing I noticed about him. You can't teach that. The players on the end of his passes never have to break stride or adjust their bodies. His decision making is also quite good.
Curious to see who they thought was the best.
Doesn't look raw to me. His technique and decision making actually seems beyond his years. To me, he looks timid. Would like to see him commit to taking players on more frequently.
Fati, I presume. He was the one they said our scouts thought was the best U19 at the time.
We have played James a lot on the right because that was the position with an opening and with less competition when he arrived, but he's more of a LW due to his playstyle and being right-footed. I think he'll get more games on LW going forward as a cover for Rashford or Pogba, with Greenwood cementing the RW and Amad/Elanga likely to provide the competition for him in the short term.Because Amad will make the RW spot his own next season
Finger crossed
In other words, I don't think Amad is going to be a big issue for James. He might curtail his playing time a bit, but he'll get more time on his more natural left side.
Could end up playing the same sort of role as David Silva did at City
I haven't watched him for the u23s but for the senior team he didn't really show enough acceleration to take players on frequently. That was my impression at least.
Which isn't a problem really, not every player needs to be the type that tries to dribble past players. If anything with Martial, Rashford and Greenwood we have plenty of those already across the forward line, what we lack more is people with good vision and precise passing skills to unlock a tight defence that's too tough to dribble past. It's almost exclusively Bruno that tries to unpick a defence with a pass now, it'd be nice to have someone else who can pull it off too.
Hopefully. And if he ends up being near D.Silva in quality he'll be a player for the ages. He was the Man City player I was always the most envious about. Such a silky operator.
Oh look Dan James finished that one!!!
Fati probably?
My reaction too
.Ansu Fati.
Always thought he was a bit overweight
What?
I disagree. I don’t think wingers simply play on the other side by default, it is based on their strengths as players. Typically, wingers are now expected to score goals, and the current version of wingers has ended the two striker system and the #10 system, by and large. Now, wingers are there to share the #9 and #10 functions - as well as the traditional 7 and 11.
James is far more and old-school type. He has no creativity and little to no goal threat. He is fast, hardworking and a decent crosser, which makes him more of a 442 sort of winger than a 433 type. In short, he is best on the right. Just like Valencia was best on the right, not the left. Their qualities are similar.
Thanks.
It’s a name joke.
He's clearly talented but he's at that awkward stage of showing moments of serious talent and then looking like a deer in headlights, which is only normal at his age. I think Ole is blooding him right, just the right amount of first team exposure so he can see what he'll need to improve on to cement first team status. He looked comfortable when he found himself in the #10 position against Wolves, could full well end up there in a couple years, especially if Sancho does arrive.
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