Amad Diallo has been a breath of fresh air while Rasmus Hojlund's struggles continue
BILBAO — After making just 12 league appearances across four seasons, it is safe to say most Manchester United supporters had long forgotten about Amad Diallo.
Just another £30m-plus player, one signed amid accusations of human trafficking, to be thrown on the pile of youngsters who never reached their potential in the post Sir Alex Ferguson nadir-filled wilderness years. The ability was there, but manager after manager saw something they didn’t like.
After two loans at Rangers and Sunderland, an inauspicious future lay in store. His big chance gone. Amad’s exploits on Wearside turned some heads, but not enough. Then one goal changed everything and now he stands alongside Bruno Fernandes as his team’s only hope of saving their season.
“Since I got that game time, I showed everyone I can play for this club,” Amad says as he and United prepare for their Europa League final clash with Tottenham in Bilbao.
“That was the only thing I didn’t have at the beginning when I arrived here. I think sometimes you need experience, you need some things where you can grow up. I think to have loans at Rangers and Sunderland helped me a lot to grow up, so now I’m so happy to help the club.
“I’m always positive, I’m always smiling with everyone, so that’s my natural thing. That’s me, that’s Amad.”
‘I’m grateful for everything Erik ten Hag did for me’, he adds (Photo: Getty)
It was a ray of light bursting through the gloom around Old Trafford everyone needed. Another disappointing Premier League campaign was in full swing, with title-chasing bitter rivals Liverpool in town for an FA Cup clash.
A breathless encounter in March last year was heading for penalties. With defensive sensibility firmly cast aside, United launched one last counter at the death, two on one, but Alejandro Garnacho’s pass into substitute Amad was under-hit, giving the last Liverpool defender time to recover.
The Ivorian, so desperate as he was to finally make his mark, was not going to let one of a long line of now-customary misplaced United passes ruin his moment. The way he shifted the under-hit layoff onto his left foot before slotting a superb winner into the far corner sent the red half of Manchester into a state of euphoria they had not seen since the Hacienda shut its doors, the balance defying logic.
Erik ten Hag’s mind had been changed, and ever since Amad’s stock has grown greater by the week. The game time remained irregular, but at least it was something.
“Honestly, Erik helped me a lot,” Amad continues. “He was giving me a lot of advice, even when I wasn’t playing. He was telling me to train very hard every time. That’s the most important thing when a manager keeps telling you to train hard, even if you don’t play.
“So I kept training very hard, very hard. I think this season, at the beginning, I was playing a lot with him. I want to thank him again for the opportunity he gave me, and I want to wish him all the best.
“Now I have a manager who believes in me, who trusts me, so I’m grateful for everything he did for me. Now it’s for me to play everything on the pitch.”
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Ruben Amorim is a convert. It is not just the importance of Amad’s 18 goal contributions this season – he single-handedly wrestled victory from the jaws of defeat at the Etihad and fired a late hat-trick from nowhere against Southampton back in January, six points that helped Amorim avoid an embarrassing relegation battle – it is the quality of his interventions that helps the 22-year-old stand above all else around him in red.
Thierry Henry described Amad’s winner at Manchester City as the “best piece of skill you will see all season”. Controlling a long ball over his shoulder on his toe is quite the piece de resistance.
While Rasmus Hojlund plunders his way around the central forward areas like a hungry giant, in the wide areas, Amad has been a breath of fresh air.
While the scoreline from United’s Europa League semi-final appears rather comprehensive, for much of the second leg at Old Trafford, Athletic Bilbao threatened the remontada to end all remontadas.
Despite losing 3-0 in Bilbao, the visitors had a psychologically fragile United on the ropes, 1-0 in front but threatening more with every attack.
That was until Amad entered the fray, having been out injured for three months – not-so-coincidentally United’s worst run of form in this entirely-forgettable season.
The game plan instantly changed – pass it to Amad and let him do his thing. Against Spurs, with their talisman unexpectedly fit for the final, Amorim, known for stringent adhering to his own system, is probably best doing the same.
“I believe in my potential,” Amad says. “I believe I can be one of the best in the world.”