Amad Diallo Proves He Has A Future At Manchester United

MANCHESTER, ENGLAND - FEBRUARY 24: Amad Diallo of Manchester United during the Premier League match ... [+] between Manchester United and Fulham FC at Old Trafford on February 24, 2024 in Manchester, England. (Photo by Visionhaus/Getty Images)

It may have taken nearly four years, but Amad Diallo has finally announced his arrival at Old Trafford.

On Sunday the 21-year-old Ivorian winger enshrined himself in Manchester United’s long and rich history by scoring a last minute extra-time winner in their 4-3 victory over Liverpool in the FA Cup quarter-final.

It sparked scenes of wild celebrations inside Old Trafford at the end of what was one of the greatest games the famous stadium had ever witnessed.

On 120 minutes, with the game seemingly destined for a penalty shoot-out, Amad won the ball on the edge of the United penalty, before it broke to Alejandro Garnacho, who took it up the field, before passing it back to Amad who scored with a low finish past the outstretched hand of Caoimhin Kelleher.

It neatly showcased some of Amad’s most obvious talents in one thrilling move: intelligence, work-rate, pace, calmness and clinical finishing.

MANCHESTER, ENGLAND - MARCH 17: Amad Diallo of Manchester United scores their 4th goal during the ... [+] Emirates FA Cup Quarter Final match between Manchester United and Liverpool at Old Trafford on March 17, 2024 in Manchester, England. (Photo by Simon Stacpoole/Offside/Offside via Getty Images)

"I am so happy for him," said the United manager Erik ten Hag after the game. "He is one of the players who had huge setbacks. He has returned knowing there is lot of competition in his position and he doesn't always get the time he deserves.”

“But he shows his contribution by coming on and scoring a goal. We know he can do it. He is in a problematic situation but he is fighting."

After impressing on a loan spell at Sunderland last season, where he scored 13 goals in 37 appearances and won their young player of the year award, Amad was expected to be an important player back at Old Trafford this season.

But he picked up a knee injury during the summer, which saw him miss the first five months of the season, and since his return at the end of December, he has been limited to just four substitute appearances totalling a combined 98 minutes.

Since United signed Amad in October 2020 from the Italian side Atalanta for a transfer fee that could reach as high as £37 million, he has only made a mere 13 appearances for the club.

Manchester United's Brazilian midfielder #21 Antony (L) celebrates with Manchester United's Ivorian ... [+] midfielder #16 Amad Diallo (R) after scoring their second goal during the English FA Cup Quarter Final football match between Manchester United and Liverpool at Old Trafford in Manchester, north west England, on March 17, 2024. (Photo by Paul ELLIS / AFP) / RESTRICTED TO EDITORIAL USE. No use with unauthorized audio, video, data, fixture lists, club/league logos or 'live' services. Online in-match use limited to 120 images. An additional 40 images may be used in extra time. No video emulation. Social media in-match use limited to 120 images. An additional 40 images may be used in extra time. No use in betting publications, games or single club/league/player publications. / (Photo by PAUL ELLIS/AFP via Getty Images)

At the time, the United manager Ole Gunnar called him “one of the most exciting young prospects in the game.” But he is yet to prove this, and instead his time as at Old Trafford has been dominated by injuries, loan moves and false dawns.

After making his first nine appearances, United’s coaches believed he needed to be sent out of loan to gain greater experience, and in January 2022 he went to Rangers in the Scottish Premier League, scoring 3 goals in 13 games, before spending the entire 2022-23 season with Sunderland in the Championship.

His Sunderland manager Tony Mowbray called Amad an “amazing talent” who is a “maestro with the ball.” He also added, “Controlling the ball’s so easy for Amad, he doesn’t have to think because he can just kill it dead and he sees the pass straight away. It’s unbelievable how clever he is.”

Sunderland's Amad Diallo celebrates after the final whistle following the Sky Bet Championship match ... [+] at The Hawthorns, West Bromwich. Picture date: Sunday April 23, 2023. (Photo by Barrington Coombs/PA Images via Getty Images)

Amad developed his game at the Stadium of Light, and proved he wasn’t just a right-winger, but could operate as a playmaker in the No.10 position, or as a striker.“He can play wide, he can play inside, he can play deep. I think he can play centre-midfield for us," Mowbray said. "Just give him the ball and he very rarely loses it.”

On his return to Old Trafford last summer, the expectation was Amad would compete with Jadon Sancho and Antony for the right-wing position, only for an untimely injury to scupper these plans.

Ten Hag has used Amad sparingly in the last two and a half months, which seemed to provoke some annoyance from the player last week, when he temporarily deleted pictures of him playing for United from his social media accounts.

But he has now begun to prove to his manager he can be relied upon in the most important moment of all, and has the talent and character to excel at Old Trafford.