Diallo turned 19 three days ago. He has very little first team football under his belt. I think he’ll stay this season as we’ll want him to have a full season with the first team. But as far as I see it his role in the pecking order will be behind Rashford, Sancho, Cavani, Martial, James and even Pogba. We’ll blood him in slowly as we should, and only if he plays his way into first team contention will he jump that pecking order. Even with Rashford out for the first 2-3 months, we won’t see much Amad.
I feel Mata has been retained for his leadership role, impact on the young players, and to add some depth for cup games etc. Don’t think he will feature much. I think the club is going to transition him to an ambassadorial or coaching role, and this extension is a stepping stone.
Expectations for Amad should be muted. He’s very young and inexperienced and he needs time. And he should be afforded that. Threads like this only increase the hype which will inevitably result in the backlash when it doesn’t transpire. I see it’s too much to expect some fans to learn from history, but I’m grateful that many on here are of a similar mindset.
Most over used refrain this season will be “where’s Amad? Play Amad ffs”. Usually after a draw or loss. This will be replaced by “Typical Utd, overpay for a kid that was never gonna be good enough, when we had other needs. Will we never learn”, typically after he comes on and doesn’t single handedly win a game for us. I’d bet my house on it.