Sunderland AFC: SoL will love what Man United developments could mean for Amad Diallo | OneFootball

Ruben Amorim's introduction could get more out of Amad Diallo at Man United, who remains a hugely popular figure at Sunderland.

Amad Diallo has not had as much success as he had perhaps hoped with Manchester United after heading back to Old Trafford from his loan spell at Sunderland, but his fortunes could change under Ruben Amorim.

The winger spent a solitary season in the North East, but it was a very productive loan stint away from the Red Devils, with Diallo making an incredible impact at the Stadium of Light, scoring 14 goals and collecting a further three assists in the league and inspiring their promotion push in the Championship.

It left a lasting impression on the Black Cats faithful during the 2022/23 season, with the Ivorian winger proving to be a standout performer in Tony Mowbray’s attack.

Operating primarily as a right-sided inverted winger, or at times as an attacking midfielder, Diallo’s intentions were clear — he wanted to do his damage centrally, within the width of the goalposts, even if he often started out wide.

Diallo's fortunes could change at Manchester United

Diallo had joined Man United as an 18-year-old from Atalanta for £37 million, meaning he was under pressure from the get-go in his career.

Of course, losing the loanee was a huge blow for the Black Cats, even though realistically they had to go up to have any chance of bringing him back to the club last season or indeed in the current campaign.

The club were even in contact with the Red Devils in January of this year, with a view to bringing the Ivorian back to the club. Diallo seemed frustrated with his situation, even dropping hints on social media about his desire to return to the Stadium of Light.

The Sun then claimed that the 21-year-old was willing to return to Wearside if Mowbray remained in charge in January. Whilst Fabrizio Romano later outlined that Sunderland was Diallo's preferred destination if he were to move away temporarily from Manchester United again in January. Despite it having a cruel ending, Diallo was a resounding success on Wearside, though, and will hope to replicate that form at Old Trafford at some stage.

However, that hasn't necessarily translated whilst back at his parent club. His performances convinced them to keep him around despite plenty of interest from the second tier and abroad, but they have scarcely utilised him in the last couple of seasons. He has shown glimpses back at Man United, but largely he has been taking his spot as an unused substitute in their games, or not involved at all.

That's after a serious knee injury he picked up against Arsenal in pre-season last July kept him out until almost the New Year. In the last few months of last season, his game time increased somewhat, albeit not as much as he perhaps would have hoped. Especially after big goals against Newcastle United in the league, and against Liverpool in the FA Cup towards the end of the campaign.

Under the stewardship of former Red Devils boss Erik ten Hag, the wideman would continue to suffer a lack of opportunities earlier this term and was an unused substitute during Premier League encounters with Aston Villa and Brentford in October. But since ten Hag's sacking, the 22-year-old was trusted to produce the goods by caretaker boss Ruud van Nistelrooy, which proved to be a fruitful decision.

United emerged as 2-0 winners following a Europa League tie with Greek outfit PAOK recently, thanks to a Diallo brace. The Ivorian followed up his Europa League exploits with a positive performance in the Premier League against Leicester City, as he assisted Bruno Fernandes with a clever backheel – the Portugal international scoring to send the Red Devils on their way to a 3-0 win.

Amorim is expected to approach things very differently from his predecessor – in terms of both structure and personnel – which will likely spell good news for Diallo, who has already become a more prominent player during van Nistelrooy's spell as interim boss. He will be hoping that a change of manager, and perhaps a change of system, can continue to bring him better fortunes and opportunities.

Sunderland fans will have one eye on the latest Amad Diallo development

In the 16 games he has been involved in this season, Diallo has started nine of them and was an unused substitute in the other two fixtures in Man United's season. For a player of his talents, he simply has to be featured more regularly than that and Amorim's set-up could be the way to get more out of Diallo.

He's a hugely popular figure at Sunderland still, and many fans will hope that this could be a turning point for him. It's been frustrating to see Diallo in and out of the team from their perspective, given his obvious quality on the ball, his speed, and his directness to take on players and make things happen.

His technical ability was a level above the second tier, and his close control in tight spaces became key to Sunderland’s ability to unlock defences, especially when cutting inside onto his stronger left side. Diallo’s dribbling and vision made him a constant threat, and while he was positioned on the right, he regularly drifted inside to create opportunities for himself and his teammates in the most dangerous areas of the pitch.

Despite his quality on the ball, his pace meant he was also deadly in transitional moments as well on the counter-attack, and his penchant for exploiting central spaces was evident in his goal tally of 14, many of which came from him driving into the box or taking up clever positions between defenders and in the half-spaces.

Although there were flashes of him hugging the touchline, Diallo was far more effective when he could impact play centrally, particularly in between the lines. His agility and quick feet allowed him to beat his marker before darting into pockets of space where he could either shoot or set up a teammate.

That movement, coupled with his excellent ball-striking ability, made him one of Sunderland’s most valuable attacking outlets. In Amorim's system, the players flanking the centre-forward are usually inverted wingers or hybrid players who can be described as attacking midfielders who can drift wide, which is exactly the specific role Diallo operates at his optimum.

It is a fluid 3-4-3 or 3-4-2-1, and very few of Man United's forward line are likely to fit within that better than the young Ivorian. Diallo’s time at Sunderland showcased his potential as a creative and goalscoring force, with his inverted style of play fitting Mowbray’s system perfectly, which Amorim will be well aware of by now.

Despite being best on the counter, he wasn’t just a traditional winger but a dynamic attacker who constantly looked to impose himself in areas where he could do the most damage. Amorim should get far more out of Diallo in terms of impacting games in this way, and there are seldom few players likely to benefit more than the former Sunderland loan star in Man United's squad from this switch.