Amad will be key as United try to win the Europa League
Amad will be key as United try to win the Europa League
It's little over a year since Amad made his first meaningful start for Manchester United.
Named in a United starting XI for the first time since an end-of-season dead rubber against Leicester three years earlier, the Ivory Coast international played 70 minutes before being replaced by Antony in a 1-0 defeat to Arsenal.
Back then, few would have envisaged there being quite so much excitement about his return from injury ahead of the Europa League final a year on.
Ruben Amorim declared Amad's season over after he picked up an injury in training in February, but he has worked hard to get back to fitness and strengthen United's push for Europa League glory.
Amorim described Amad's return as "massive" after he made his comeback in the 3-0 semi-final first leg victory over Athletic Bilbao earlier this month. The 22-year-old started all but one of Amorim's first 13 Premier League games in charge prior to picking up the aforementioned injury in February.
The United head coach has made no secret of his admiration for Amad, revealing he had improved "a lot" just a few weeks after his appointment. He knows Amad will have a huge part to play if United are to secure Champions League football for next season by beating Tottenham on Wednesday, though the ex-Atalanta man's qualities weren't seemingly quite so obvious to former manager Erik ten Hag.
Prior to being sacked in October, Ten Hag afforded Amad just 16 Premier League appearances in his two-and-a-half years as manager, with the forward sent out on loan to Sunderland in Ten Hag's first season at the club.
Amorim has been keen to stress the importance of Ruud van Nistelrooy's caretaker spell in aiding Amad's development. Just seven months on from Amorim's arrival at Old Trafford and Amad is now one of the first names on the teamsheet and a shoo-in for a starting place in Wednesday's final.
Ten Hag might not have been so sure about Amad's qualities but Amorim certainly is.
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