Amad Diallo enjoyed an excellent campaign at Sunderland last season.
Joining on a season-long loan deal from Manchester United, this always looked as though this was going to be a good move for the Black Cats and the Ivorian certainly proved his worth on Wearside.
Scoring 14 goals and registering four assists in 42 competitive appearances for the Championship team last season, he established himself as one of the most gifted attackers in the division and certainly did enough to put himself in the shop window.
He will be disappointed that his equalising goal against Luton Town in the first leg of the play-offs didn’t help the Black Cats get to Wembley, but he could be full of optimism following what was a very productive 2022/23 campaign for him.
Diallo seemed to thrive under Tony Mowbray, but that is no shock considering the latter has a great track record of developing younger players.
It was previously unclear whether he was going to stay at Old Trafford beyond the end of the summer window, with plenty of clubs registering an interest in the 21-year-old.
Sunderland were one team interested in taking him back, but there was also Premier League interest in him with Burnley and Sheffield United both being linked following their promotions to the top flight.
However, Diallo suffered a knee injury during a pre-season game against Arsenal and that ruined his chances of securing another temporary switch away from Old Trafford.
Looking at his situation more positively though, it may give him an opportunity to impress Erik Ten Hag and force his way into United’s first-team plans.
But he is yet to make a single competitive appearance this season and that is due to his injury.
However, the 21-year-old could return to action after the international break and you feel he could potentially become an important part of the first team considering fellow youngster Hannibal Mejbri has been given a chance to shine.
It may take him a little while to get back up to speed – but he will just be glad to be back out on the grass when he returns.
Whether Ten Hag gives him a chance in the coming months will probably decide where his future lies.
He may only be 21 at this point – but he needs to secure regular first-team football if he wants to fulfil his potential and he may not get the chance to do that at Old Trafford.
If he doesn’t play much before January, it wouldn’t be a surprise to see him go out on loan again and considering how much interest was in him back in the summer, there probably wouldn’t be a shortage of takers.
In an ideal world for Diallo though, he would become a regular first-teamer at United and considering the Red Devils are competing in several competitions, he could get a sufficient opportunity to impress.
His performance levels may determine how much game time he gets though, so he will need to get back into his rhythm quickly, something that will be easier said than done.
