Amad Diallo | Sunderland Loan Watch

[Smores]

Now this is a bit of an exaggeration. Amad is a lovely player but you would really want the player you signed as an enormously expensive teenager to be making more than two assists in a second tier league. As good as he is, I think people might have to manage their expectations regarding Amad's championship form translating over to the premiership. He's been good but he isn't too good for the league as I've seen some people say. He's scored a few goals but he's not the Championship's Mo Salah and he's got 5 more goal contributions than expected goal contributions so has been scoring from positions that aren't necessarily repeatable over time.

Since when is 12 goals a few? He's got more goals than Kane did in his championship stint, he's had a very good season.

Stepping up from that level to the premiership is always a leap but his general play certainly suggests he's ready technically. Only issue will be mentality which you can never guess at.

 

[OmarUnited4ever]

Him, Garnacho, Antony, and Rashford should be our main wide attackers next season with Pellistri going on loan, and hopefully with a quality striker + Martial, we will have a strong front line that will allow Ten Hag some flexibility to mix it up and use different combinations.

 

[Gordon S]

Found a short comp from a match at Atalanta. Honestly looks like same player we are watching today. Absolute beauty of assist at 1:20

 

[talking robot]

I think between diallo, garnacho, and pellistri, we would have more than enough back up on the wings to allow us to sell sancho, who could probably command a fee of 55m-60m. I’d do that and re-invest the money elsewhere.

 

[top1whoisman]

Now this is a bit of an exaggeration. Amad is a lovely player but you would really want the player you signed as an enormously expensive teenager to be making more than two assists in a second tier league. As good as he is, I think people might have to manage their expectations regarding Amad's championship form translating over to the premiership. He's been good but he isn't too good for the league as I've seen some people say. He's scored a few goals but he's not the Championship's Mo Salah and he's got 5 more goal contributions than expected goal contributions so has been scoring from positions that aren't necessarily repeatable over time.

That’s basically the polar opposite to what the Sunderland boss said today.

 

[sglowrider]

I think between diallo, garnacho, and pellistri, we would have more than enough back up on the wings to allow us to sell sancho, who could probably command a fee of 55m-60m. I’d do that and re-invest the money elsewhere.

We won't be able to sell Sancho at that price esp at his pay package.

 

[TheLittleOne]

We won't be able to sell Sancho at that price esp at his pay package.

Even if we could, there is a big problem when making huge investments like Antony or Sancho or Maguire. The people in charge will always be trying to make it work to save face because they made an almost 100million decision and they dont want to be wrong and humiliated. Antony and Sancho will more than likely still be here next season. Maguire's situation is a little different because I feel like the outside pressure and humiliation is much bigger in his case especially because he is captain and is forced to be a bench option in all the important games. He is clearly seen as a 3 or 4 choice at the club and I cant see him beeing happy with that and the best option clearly is him leaving the club but with Antony and Sancho we will give them at least one more year to turn the tide.

 

[marktan]

The championship is about as physical as it gets. He deserves a chance to show what he can do for the first team.

Attacking players in the Championship that do well often don't do as well in the PL, because the defenses in particular are better. In general everything is better.

My point is instead of bringing him and hoping he's ready at 21, it's better to give him more time somewhere where he's guaranteed to play and improve. He's not at the level where he's guaranteed to play for us - he's like Tuanzabe and a few others (who I can't recall off the top of my head) that are better off getting 30 regular starts, as are pretty much all 21 year olds.

 

[Bojan Djordjic]

No one is saying championship form equals PL form. No one is saying he is killing it week in week out. What I am saying is that as loans go - they don’t get much better than this and certainly not for Utd players.

not sure why you think he would have to be top scorer or assist maker in the championship to warrant a chance at Utd and I’m not sure if you are considering the fact that we just need to ask the question- could he offer more than any of the current squad players in his positions. The answer is, based on his performances in the championship to date - he certainly looks as promising or more so than DVB, Elanga, Pellistri and possibly Sancho if we ignore reputation and just base that on performances.

he deserves his chance at Utd now and he could not have done more at Sunderland to answer some of the questions surrounding him which were all about taking responsibility, work ethic, and not drifting in and out of games.

You said he "literally could not have done more during this loan to call it a success" and I'm saying that well maybe as a wide forward who's literally in the bottom 24th percentile of assists that there's definite room for improvement. People have said in this thread that he is too good for championship and that just isn't really true based on output. He's good but we've seen less heralded talents as Michael Olise was at 18 outperform him in the championship. Also, do you think if Sancho or even Elanga was in the championship they wouldn't be destroying it?

 

[SAF is the GOAT]

Found a short comp from a match at Atalanta. Honestly looks like same player we are watching today. Absolute beauty of assist at 1:20

Actually in this vid he looks better because he's creating a lot for his team mates, something that I don't see a lot from him now in sunderland

 

[Bojan Djordjic]

Since when is 12 goals a few? He's got more goals than Kane did in his championship stint, he's had a very good season.

Stepping up from that level to the premiership is always a leap but his general play certainly suggests he's ready technically. Only issue will be mentality which you can never guess at.

With respect, it's a lot more than mentality. Amad's main questions will be around physical intensity and his work off the ball. Antony gets slated on here sometimes for his creative output but he's a demon in defence and very clever at blocking off passing lanes while pressing. It's why we always seem to play far worse when he's not in the team. Amad will need to match that as his underlying goals and assists numbers are not high enough to carry someone who can't do what Antony can off the ball.

 

[city-puma]

You said he "literally could not have done more during this loan to call it a success" and I'm saying that well maybe as a wide forward who's literally in the bottom 24th percentile of assists that there's definite room for improvement. People have said in this thread that he is too good for championship and that just isn't really true based on output. He's good but we've seen less heralded talents as Michael Olise was at 18 outperform him in the championship. Also, do you think if Sancho or even Elanga was in the championship they wouldn't be destroying it?

The last season Olise in Reading scored 7 goal and was awarded EFL young player of the season. Amad has been nominated for it this season. He is following Olise’ pathway to EPL next season.

 

[luke511]

With respect, it's a lot more than mentality. Amad's main questions will be around physical intensity and his work off the ball. Antony gets slated on here sometimes for his creative output but he's a demon in defence and very clever at blocking off passing lanes while pressing. It's why we always seem to play far worse when he's not in the team. Amad will need to match that as his underlying goals and assists numbers are not high enough to carry someone who can't do what Antony can off the ball.

Amad is in the top 5% for winger interceptions, way higher than Antony.

 

[Bojan Djordjic]

The last season Olise in Reading scored 7 goal and was awarded EFL young player of the season. Amad has been nominated for it this season. He is following Olise’ pathway to EPL next season.

Olise was 18 and scored 7 goals and had 12 assists. I'm not saying I think Amad is a bad player. I'm just disputing people saying he's too good for the championship based on good but not totally piss-taking numbers. Amad is the fella people want replacing Bruno but he only has two assists in a second tier league this season. There's a huge gulf between both leagues. There was literally a guy last year who got 50 goal contributions in the championship. He was genuinely too good for the Championship and he has twelve in the PL this year. Just think we need to be cautious when projecting championship performances to the PL.

 

[Bojan Djordjic]

Amad is in the top 5% for winger interceptions, way higher than Antony.

Interceptions are not a proxy for what I've said about Antony. If someone cuts off your passing lane, you don't pass to that person so they can intercept, you are forced to pass it somewhere else like to a central player where the likes of Fred and Bruno can spring on them.

 

[Gordon S]

You said he "literally could not have done more during this loan to call it a success" and I'm saying that well maybe as a wide forward who's literally in the bottom 24th percentile of assists that there's definite room for improvement. People have said in this thread that he is too good for championship and that just isn't really true based on output. He's good but we've seen less heralded talents as Michael Olise was at 18 outperform him in the championship. Also, do you think if Sancho or even Elanga was in the championship they wouldn't be destroying it?

I would be very surprised.

Do you really think that Elanga is the same level of talent as Amad?

 

[Bojan Djordjic]

I would be very surprised.

Do you really think that Elanga is the same level of talent as Amad?

I don't think Teemu Pukki is the same level of talent that Amad is but he regularly crushes the Championship. I think Elanga would do very well at Championship level although my point was mainly about Sancho and people now thinking he's a worse player than Amad.

 

[Idxomer]

You said he "literally could not have done more during this loan to call it a success" and I'm saying that well maybe as a wide forward who's literally in the bottom 24th percentile of assists that there's definite room for improvement. People have said in this thread that he is too good for championship and that just isn't really true based on output. He's good but we've seen less heralded talents as Michael Olise was at 18 outperform him in the championship. Also, do you think if Sancho or even Elanga was in the championship they wouldn't be destroying it?

There's room for improvement, I don't think anyone could argue with that. The loan has also been undoubtedly a success. Sunderland was basically a team without a manager when he went there. They got Mowbray who took a good while to know his team. He's the top scorer now in a team without a striker playing the equivalent of 24 games so far. Olise is very talented and quality too but his goal contributions per 90 weren't better than Amad's when he was in the championship.

I believe Amad deserves an actual chance to see what he could do at United and that's not based on his stats but his talent and technical ability which are very high and I think are definitely too good for the championship.

 

[Lost bear]

You said he "literally could not have done more during this loan to call it a success" and I'm saying that well maybe as a wide forward who's literally in the bottom 24th percentile of assists that there's definite room for improvement. People have said in this thread that he is too good for championship and that just isn't really true based on output. He's good but we've seen less heralded talents as Michael Olise was at 18 outperform him in the championship. Also, do you think if Sancho or even Elanga was in the championship they wouldn't be destroying it?

I don’t think Elanga would, no.

 

[Messier1994]

Ultimately, with a guy like Amad, I don’t think you can ‘expect’ him to become a star. If you sign 4 kids like him, 1 probably busts, 2 probably give you money’s worth (give or take), and perhaps the 4th becomes a mega star.

What is a great player? Who is too good for the Championship? I think that it’s really easy in football to overrate ‘the right player in the right position on the right team’ — and underrate the rest. Like this is what Brighton is all about. They have very specific roles in mind, and get players who are really good for those roles. I remember when they signed Miltoma. They said something like ‘you never know how well someone can adopt to the PL or even Europe from Asia, but this guy is really good in 1 on 1 situations, we know that for certain, that is why we signed him.’ Then they put him in a position where they constantly get him into those exact situations. And it pays off. Cuccurella is another guy like that, looked like a world beater for Brighton and has been very meh for CFC. How good would Odegard be for West Ham? How good would Bernardo Silva be for Everton? So many are raving about Gabriel’s play for Arsenal, and sure, objectively, he has been been great, but that is a kid that screams train-wreck had he played for a shaky team like say a Leicester.

My point is just, from my view it doesn’t really matter if Diallo is leading the Championship in scoring or not. If Diallo had played for Birmingham his job would have been much harder, now he is ‘team of the year’ in the Championship, partly because Sunderland is a good team and he has a role that fits him really well.

But what — does — matter for me is that, does Diallo have potential to be a good playmate for guys like Rashford, Martial, Antony, Sancho, Bruno? You bet. He can make the highest octane offensive plays, but he is also very altruistic/team loyal. Can work hard and be eager just to get open so that he can take a pass, and with one touch move it 6 feet to someone else who is open. In addition — we all call out this organization for everything between heaven and earth, but one thing that I think it’s doing really well is teaching kids to effectively tic-tac their ways through defenses — with high speed. Link-ups in traffic high up the pitch. And that is right up Diallo’s ally too, which is a big part of our identity.

Is there an opening for him on the roster? Definitely. We only have one left footed RW and Diallo fits really well into that role in ETHs system. That role also comes with defensive responsibility, and sure, Diallo isn’t even remotely as physically strong as Antony, but he does make up a lot from being extremely quick. And while I think ETH thinks that Antony is really important for this team (I do too) — Antony is still young and I don’t think he should nor will be playing 50 of our 60 games or whatever. Antony tends to pick up knocks, you need backups at all positions, etc.

Of course, nothing is a given. And ultimately, it comes down to Diallo to perform. But I would bet that it’s 90-95% that he will come in and win a spot and that we will be very excited about his prospects after seeing him start around 20-25 times give or take depending on injuries etc.

But he is not going to be someone they carry the team next season, of course. He won’t do for us what Saka has done for Arsenal. He won’t be as great as Antony has been. But in 3-4 years? I think the sky is the limit for this kid. You need to stay healthy. You must have that amazing desire to always get better. Etc etc etc. But I wouldn’t rule out that he will have carved out a very big role for us when things are said and done in 10-12 years…

 

[Lay]

Sunderland forum is full of high praise for the lad.

Love the lad, hope he goes on to be one of the greats for Utd. Pure class for his age, imo the best player I've ever seen play for us.

Best player I have ever seen in a Sunderland shirt .There you go, I have said it.Love the fella.

Folks saying buy him , he will be carving the champions league up in a couple of years this lad.

 

[city-puma]

Olise was 18 and scored 7 goals and had 12 assists. I'm not saying I think Amad is a bad player. I'm just disputing people saying he's too good for the championship based on good but not totally piss-taking numbers. Amad is the fella people want replacing Bruno but he only has two assists in a second tier league this season. There's a huge gulf between both leagues. There was literally a guy last year who got 50 goal contributions in the championship. He was genuinely too good for the Championship and he has twelve in the PL this year. Just think we need to be cautious when projecting championship performances to the PL.

Amad is a year older than Olise at the stage in championship loan. Olise has great number of assists and is physically more stronger and taller. He was definitely too good for championship as Eve was and therefore Crystal palace made acquisition. I don’t know why the comparison with Olise, a wonderful prospect, results in your conclusion Amad is not too good for Championship. I do get your concern about physical readiness. Anyway, it’s about opinions, we agree to disagree at least. For me, it’s pointless for Amad to spent another season in championship.

 

[luke511]

Interceptions are not a proxy for what I've said about Antony. If someone cuts off your passing lane, you don't pass to that person so they can intercept, you are forced to pass it somewhere else like to a central player where the likes of Fred and Bruno can spring on them.

You’re making a point that his off the ball work isn’t up to standard, and that his goals and assists don’t make up for it. Neither points really add up because he is actually effective at defending off the ball as proven with statistics like that.

 

[Bondi77]

But who could he replace or where would he fit in?

We've got Anthony, Sancho, Fernandes, Garnacho, Pellistri and perhaps Rashford as well.

We would be better served in sending Sancho out on loan and have this kid take his minutes
It is never going to happen though as it makes the club look stupid by bringing him in and paying him the massive wage that he is on.

 

[Bondi77]

Attacking players in the Championship that do well often don't do as well in the PL, because the defenses in particular are better. In general everything is better.

My point is instead of bringing him and hoping he's ready at 21, it's better to give him more time somewhere where he's guaranteed to play and improve. He's not at the level where he's guaranteed to play for us - he's like Tuanzabe and a few others (who I can't recall off the top of my head) that are better off getting 30 regular starts, as are pretty much all 21 year olds.

What is the point of paying big money for players from other leagues when they are not ready for the Premier League then?
We have paid huge money for Sancho and Antony and look at the donkey at Liverpool and the clowns at Chelsea and all we hear is the excuse about it being a new league and a different country and blah, blah, blah.
The fact is we have a player already on the books whom is doing very well in a physical league in England and he would probably be better served in getting him back to the club and under the guidance of Erik and have him play the minutes that are currently wasted on Sancho.

 

[Mr PG]

You said he "literally could not have done more during this loan to call it a success" and I'm saying that well maybe as a wide forward who's literally in the bottom 24th percentile of assists that there's definite room for improvement. People have said in this thread that he is too good for championship and that just isn't really true based on output. He's good but we've seen less heralded talents as Michael Olise was at 18 outperform him in the championship. Also, do you think if Sancho or even Elanga was in the championship they wouldn't be destroying it?

Amad should have like 8, 9 more assists if his teammates could score. Also Amad is one of the most technically gifted players today. His weight of pass is as good as I have seen from any player.

 

[OL29]

Now this is a bit of an exaggeration. Amad is a lovely player but you would really want the player you signed as an enormously expensive teenager to be making more than two assists in a second tier league. As good as he is, I think people might have to manage their expectations regarding Amad's championship form translating over to the premiership. He's been good but he isn't too good for the league as I've seen some people say. He's scored a few goals but he's not the Championship's Mo Salah and he's got 5 more goal contributions than expected goal contributions so has been scoring from positions that aren't necessarily repeatable over time.

I’ve never understood why this gets used against players, isn’t the capability to score a goal from nothing a positive trait for a winger? Amad’s goal catalogue this season suggests to me that he can score goals from outside the box, I don’t really see much of a reason that won’t continue.

 

[Bertie Wooster]

Ultimately, with a guy like Amad, I don’t think you can ‘expect’ him to become a star. If you sign 4 kids like him, 1 probably busts, 2 probably give you money’s worth (give or take), and perhaps the 4th becomes a mega star.

What is a great player? Who is too good for the Championship? I think that it’s really easy in football to overrate ‘the right player in the right position on the right team’ — and underrate the rest. Like this is what Brighton is all about. They have very specific roles in mind, and get players who are really good for those roles. I remember when they signed Miltoma. They said something like ‘you never know how well someone can adopt to the PL or even Europe from Asia, but this guy is really good in 1 on 1 situations, we know that for certain, that is why we signed him.’ Then they put him in a position where they constantly get him into those exact situations. And it pays off. Cuccurella is another guy like that, looked like a world beater for Brighton and has been very meh for CFC. How good would Odegard be for West Ham? How good would Bernardo Silva be for Everton? So many are raving about Gabriel’s play for Arsenal, and sure, objectively, he has been been great, but that is a kid that screams train-wreck had he played for a shaky team like say a Leicester.

My point is just, from my view it doesn’t really matter if Diallo is leading the Championship in scoring or not. If Diallo had played for Birmingham his job would have been much harder, now he is ‘team of the year’ in the Championship, partly because Sunderland is a good team and he has a role that fits him really well.

But what — does — matter for me is that, does Diallo have potential to be a good playmate for guys like Rashford, Martial, Antony, Sancho, Bruno? You bet. He can make the highest octane offensive plays, but he is also very altruistic/team loyal. Can work hard and be eager just to get open so that he can take a pass, and with one touch move it 6 feet to someone else who is open. In addition — we all call out this organization for everything between heaven and earth, but one thing that I think it’s doing really well is teaching kids to effectively tic-tac their ways through defenses — with high speed. Link-ups in traffic high up the pitch. And that is right up Diallo’s ally too, which is a big part of our identity.

Is there an opening for him on the roster? Definitely. We only have one left footed RW and Diallo fits really well into that role in ETHs system. That role also comes with defensive responsibility, and sure, Diallo isn’t even remotely as physically strong as Antony, but he does make up a lot from being extremely quick. And while I think ETH thinks that Antony is really important for this team (I do too) — Antony is still young and I don’t think he should nor will be playing 50 of our 60 games or whatever. Antony tends to pick up knocks, you need backups at all positions, etc.

Of course, nothing is a given. And ultimately, it comes down to Diallo to perform. But I would bet that it’s 90-95% that he will come in and win a spot and that we will be very excited about his prospects after seeing him start around 20-25 times give or take depending on injuries etc.

But he is not going to be someone they carry the team next season, of course. He won’t do for us what Saka has done for Arsenal. He won’t be as great as Antony has been. But in 3-4 years? I think the sky is the limit for this kid. You need to stay healthy. You must have that amazing desire to always get better. Etc etc etc. But I wouldn’t rule out that he will have carved out a very big role for us when things are said and done in 10-12 years…

Good post. I especially agree with the bolded parts.

Absolutely delighted that his loan is going so well and, yeah, with the priority being signings in other areas in the summer (and the ongoing club sale potentially further complicating the budget) then I think there's definitely a case for giving Amad an opportunity next season as an alternative right sided, left footer role along with Antony.

Obviously there's also a valid argument for giving him a PL loan in the hope he does well as a regular in the top flight and then can be even more experienced and confident when given his chance with us. But it's always a gamble loaning a young player out as a change of manager / pressure of short term results rather than long term development means it could have the opposite effect and he comes back on a low after a frustrating loan.

So timing of him being given his opportunity is important. And I think he'll be on such a high after this season, and there's a vacancy in the squad for sharing the right sided, left footed winger role, that I'd rather see him being given that opportunity in pre-season and the first half of next season to see if can impress enough to establish himself in the squad. If he doesn't, then he can always be loaned out in January I suppose so he doesn't have a wasted season (like the likes of Iqbal and Williams this year).

 

[Valencia Shin Crosses]

Attacking players in the Championship that do well often don't do as well in the PL, because the defenses in particular are better. In general everything is better.

My point is instead of bringing him and hoping he's ready at 21, it's better to give him more time somewhere where he's guaranteed to play and improve. He's not at the level where he's guaranteed to play for us - he's like Tuanzabe and a few others (who I can't recall off the top of my head) that are better off getting 30 regular starts, as are pretty much all 21 year olds.

Except he’s levels above what Tuanzebe ever was, and it’s not “hoping” when he’s one of the best technical players in the squad the day he comes back already. Again, this team needs more technical quality, and Amad isn’t just some random young striker that went and scored a few goals in the championship. Many Sunderland fans think he’s the best player they’ve possibly seen play for the club or close to it. That isn’t to be taken lightly

 

[Mwooyo]

People asking for amad to go out on loan surprise me. We are asking for amad to do things other wonderkids didnt have to do. Now its go out on loan to the prem and push xyz numbers. Why? How comes we didnt request the same for garnacho or saka or elanga etc. Dont ask for crazy requirements for amad that we didnt require from other wonderkids. Amad is ready to play at manutd next season...he just needs opportunities to show it.

His size has ever been an issue. It wasnt an issue at atalanta...it wasnt an issue when he made his debuts at manutd and it isnt an issue at Sunderland. For people asking where he will play...he isnt going to compete with bruno....nooo, the boy is coming for Anthony. Anthony is the one who shouldn't sleep at night...he has severe deficiencies in his game that are costing us games.

Amad is already better than anthony at so many things and all he needs is the opportunities to show that. Amad beats his fb more than anthony, he uses his weaker foot better, he passes better and works as hard as anthony. All that defensive work people praise anthony for, amad does it in his sleep...infact he was already doing it at atalanta and at manutd. Even when he played for us, he was already tracking back.

Lastly, amad keeps the ball as good as anthony...i think he does this even better than anthony. Give Amad a season at manutd and he will displace anthony. We should actually be discussing what to do with Anthony or where can we play Anthony or how much can we sell Anthony for after Amad takes his place.

We are already doing this for sancho. Why? Because garnacho came through. All the sancho question marks are because garnacho just appears to be wayyyy better at most things in comparison to Sancho. Now wait for Amad, he is ready

 

[roonster09]

People asking for amad to go out on loan surprise me. We are asking for amad to do things other wonderkids didnt have to do. Now its go out on loan to the prem and push xyz numbers. Why? How comes we didnt request the same for garnacho or saka or elanga etc. Dont ask for crazy requirements for amad that we didnt require from other wonderkids. Amad is ready to play at manutd next season...he just needs opportunities to show it.

His size has ever been an issue. It wasnt an issue at atalanta...it wasnt an issue when he made his debuts at manutd and it isnt an issue at Sunderland. For people asking where he will play...he isnt going to compete with bruno....nooo, the boy is coming for Anthony. Anthony is the one who shouldn't sleep at night...he has severe deficiencies in his game that are costing us games.

Amad is already better than anthony at so many things and all he needs is the opportunities to show that. Amad beats his fb more than anthony, he uses his weaker foot better, he passes better and works as hard as anthony. All that defensive work people praise anthony for, amad does it in his sleep...infact he was already doing it at atalanta and at manutd. Even when he played for us, he was already tracking back.

Lastly, amad keeps the ball as good as anthony...i think he does this even better than anthony. Give Amad a season at manutd and he will displace anthony. We should actually be discussing what to do with Anthony or where can we play Anthony or how much can we sell Anthony for after Amad takes his place.

We are already doing this for sancho. Why? Because garnacho came through. All the sancho question marks are because garnacho just appears to be wayyyy better at most things in comparison to Sancho. Now wait for Amad, he is ready

Good post, agree with most of it.

People have this imaginary path way that they have created and somehow thinks every young player should fit in that path for greatness. Same for managers too.

Amad has played well, he is ready to be part of the first team squad. He can offer much more than Sancho, Elanga. Instead of expecting him to dominate leagues with unreal numbers, we can integrate him to first team giving him cup matches and as a sub in league games.

 

[georgipep]

People asking for amad to go out on loan surprise me. We are asking for amad to do things other wonderkids didnt have to do. Now its go out on loan to the prem and push xyz numbers. Why? How comes we didnt request the same for garnacho or saka or elanga etc. Dont ask for crazy requirements for amad that we didnt require from other wonderkids. Amad is ready to play at manutd next season...he just needs opportunities to show it.

His size has ever been an issue. It wasnt an issue at atalanta...it wasnt an issue when he made his debuts at manutd and it isnt an issue at Sunderland. For people asking where he will play...he isnt going to compete with bruno....nooo, the boy is coming for Anthony. Anthony is the one who shouldn't sleep at night...he has severe deficiencies in his game that are costing us games.

Amad is already better than anthony at so many things and all he needs is the opportunities to show that. Amad beats his fb more than anthony, he uses his weaker foot better, he passes better and works as hard as anthony. All that defensive work people praise anthony for, amad does it in his sleep...infact he was already doing it at atalanta and at manutd. Even when he played for us, he was already tracking back.

Lastly, amad keeps the ball as good as anthony...i think he does this even better than anthony. Give Amad a season at manutd and he will displace anthony. We should actually be discussing what to do with Anthony or where can we play Anthony or how much can we sell Anthony for after Amad takes his place.

We are already doing this for sancho. Why? Because garnacho came through. All the sancho question marks are because garnacho just appears to be wayyyy better at most things in comparison to Sancho. Now wait for Amad, he is ready

Love your faith in Amad but the rest of your post, the attack on Antony and Sancho are completely unfounded and unnecessary.

Antony is our only attacking player who continously makes himself available to receive the ball while also being the player with the highest retention of the ball. On top of that he attracts two opponents to keep him at bay. And his defending is the best in our squad too.

If half of what you say about Amad is true, it would be amazing but I fear you are overestimating the Championship quality and massively underestimating Antony and Sancho.

The point about Garnacho is also ridiculous. Garnacho is a dribbler and a consumer. Sancho is a creator. They are very different profiles and no, Garnacho wasn't the reason Sancho was out of the squad. They both give Ten Hag options. Garnacho is our Rashford alternative. Not Sancho alternative.

 

[captaincantona]

You said he "literally could not have done more during this loan to call it a success" and I'm saying that well maybe as a wide forward who's literally in the bottom 24th percentile of assists that there's definite room for improvement. People have said in this thread that he is too good for championship and that just isn't really true based on output. He's good but we've seen less heralded talents as Michael Olise was at 18 outperform him in the championship. Also, do you think if Sancho or even Elanga was in the championship they wouldn't be destroying it?

That’s an odd and very very narrow interpretation of what I wrote so for clarity -

A loan is not just about numbers etc. it’s the whole experience. Playing regularly, handling pressure and expectation, in the championship - the physical demands.

there have been many many players over the years who have looked wonderful in the championship only to be average in the PL(Gayle, Chopra, Taraabt, Knockaert, Bamford etc.) but then look at players like Mount, Maddison etc. My point had nothing to do with just goals and assists as that in isolation proves nothing . Is your point that unless a player becomes the top goal scorer or assist maker in the championship then the loan is not a success?

8 months ago if any fan/coach/pundit was asked, what does Amad have to do to ensure this loan was a success - what would they have said?

1) get consistent playing time (tick)
2) adjust to the physicality of the league (tick)
3) handle the punishing schedule of games/mens football at that level (tick)
4) influence games (tick)
5) score and deliver end product (tick)
6) gain confidence and maturity (tick)

Icing on cake…
7) be recognised by his peers as a standout performer (well player of the month, being nominated for young player of the season and glowing praise from the gaffer - tick)

so no, he couldn’t have done more. And as for your question about Elanga and Sancho - Jadon Sancho would be gobbled up in the championship at this stage…he looks well off the pace. And Elanga is a championship level player imo (ie. Good athlete, professional, pacey, can finish…but Limited positional awareness, poor touch and not finessed enough to play for a club like Utd regularly.)

 

[Jeppers7]

He’s a player that makes a team play good football.

 

[youngrell]

He should get plenty of opportunities here next season. Antony will almost certainly begin the season as first choice, but he’s often one of the first to get hooked by EtH during a game, so Amad could really get a good 20-30 minutes each game to showcase what he’s got.

 

[Kag]

I don't think Pellistri and Elanga is the reason blocking his development here. Rather its Antony and Sancho competing on the right, it would be difficult for Diallo to even make it to our bench. If we are going to keep Antony and Sancho next season, it might be better for Diallo to look for another loan move for a year, until he is ready to compete directly with Antony and Sancho.

But if you ask me, I think he is about ready to challenge, as Antony and Sancho didn't really inspire anything anyway.

Where do some of you lot get this nonsense from?

Elanga has been on the bench almost every game this season. It fits seven bloody players.

We finished the game the other night with a front three of Elanga, Weghorst and Pellistri because we had no other fit and available attacking options to replace the three that started.

We’re going to sign a striker and Martial will play back up. Rashford and Garnacho have the left side tied up. Antony and Amad will have the right side tied up. Sancho is flexible and can play all across the front four. That’s a handy set.

We play nigh on 60 games a season. We’ve struggled for depth and quality of depth all season long. The idea that Amad can’t get minutes is preposterous.

 

[Kag]

Some of you lot would have about six fecking players in the squad given the chance.

 

[Bondi77]

That’s an odd and very very narrow interpretation of what I wrote so for clarity -

A loan is not just about numbers etc. it’s the whole experience. Playing regularly, handling pressure and expectation, in the championship - the physical demands.

there have been many many players over the years who have looked wonderful in the championship only to be average in the PL(Gayle, Chopra, Taraabt, Knockaert, Bamford etc.) but then look at players like Mount, Maddison etc. My point had nothing to do with just goals and assists as that in isolation proves nothing . Is your point that unless a player becomes the top goal scorer or assist maker in the championship then the loan is not a success?

8 months ago if any fan/coach/pundit was asked, what does Amad have to do to ensure this loan was a success - what would they have said?

1) get consistent playing time (tick)
2) adjust to the physicality of the league (tick)
3) handle the punishing schedule of games/mens football at that level (tick)
4) influence games (tick)
5) score and deliver end product (tick)
6) gain confidence and maturity (tick)

Icing on cake…
7) be recognised by his peers as a standout performer (well player of the month, being nominated for young player of the season and glowing praise from the gaffer - tick)

so no, he couldn’t have done more. And as for your question about Elanga and Sancho - Jadon Sancho would be gobbled up in the championship at this stage…he looks well off the pace. And Elanga is a championship level player imo (ie. Good athlete, professional, pacey, can finish…but Limited positional awareness, poor touch and not finessed enough to play for a club like Utd regularly.)

Excellent post.

 

[UnitedRepublic]

Seems like it’s the same people that don’t rate Martial that doesn’t rate Amad either. Amad and Martial both of them are procent on the same wave length not meaning Amad is better than Martial right now but when it clicks for both they are a headache to deal with and what they bring is so valuable.

 

[mikeyt]

I've watched quite a lot of him in the Championship this season and he's such a cracking little player to watch. Definitely feel like he's toughened up a bit and will need to do more of that if he's to make it here but technically he'd instantly be one of our better players. I think he'd be able to play centrally as well as wide right just as effectively so a good pre season and I'd definitely have him here next season. My only concern is he stays here and plays 20 minutes every 4 or 5 games he may regress so hopefully if he doesn't go out on loan ETH will be looking to use him plenty.