A former Man United fan favorite has cautioned the team from falling for Amad's YouTube footage and has compared the winger to Brazilian legend Antony.
Amad, 20, is a registered player at Old Trafford but has spent this season on loan at Sunderland, where he has been a prominent performer in their improbable run to the Championship Playoffs. The winger has contributed four assists and 12 goals in the league, but Erik ten Hag has yet to say whether he will be a part of his first squad for 2023–24.
The international player from Ivory Coast has also developed a bit of an internet following after being featured in multiple YouTube videos demonstrating his flashy footwork. The idea that Amad is prepared to go to the Premier League, however, has not convinced Paul Parker, who won two Premier League championships with United in the 1990s.
“I don't think that Amad is going to play a role (at United) next season," he told FutFanatico.
"Sunderland are on a good run at the moment, so they are on a high. I’ve seen some games with him and he has done well but I’m still not sure about him. I expect him to go out on loan again because Man United wants him to play games and he is not going to do that at Man United."
Following an apparent jab at Antony, who has equally impressed and frustrated since joining for £80 million from Ajax in the summer, Parker, who also won the FA Cup and League Cup under Sir Alex Ferguson: "Those people saying that on social media might have seen a YouTube compilation with Amad but remember what Antony looked like on YouTube," he added.
"He was amazing. Football is not YouTube and he can’t claim a regular spot yet. Antony is still a better player but maybe in the future, Amad can do something for Man United.”
Amad left Italian club Atalanta in January 2021 and joined United under the leadership of Ole Gunnar Solskjaer for an initial cost of £22 million. But before joining Rangers on loan 12 months later, he only made nine appearances for the club across all leagues, scoring once in the Europa League.
His performance in Scotland was sufficient to win him a call-up to the Ivory Coast under-23 team for the postponed 2020 Summer Olympics in Tokyo. The current manager, Tony Mowbray, has already said that his star player is prepared for a better level and has hinted that if he doesn't succeed at United, he'll go for a "top" team overseas.
And if Amad can help his team defeat Preston in their final game of the season on Monday, he might even leave the North East as a hero. The Black Cats would then need either Coventry to lose at Middlesbrough or Millwall to make a mistake at home against Blackburn in order to guarantee a stop-six result.
Amad Diallo's future
The former Atalanta teenager will learn his fate after the end of the current campaign. Although it has been a fruitful loan stint for the Ivorian, it's is not yet clear if Erik Ten Hag would include him in his plans next season.
However, Tony Mowbray, Sunderland AFC's manager has made it clear he would love to have the Manchester United's winger again with the black cats next season.
Few weeks back Tony Mowbray sounded a note of warning to Man United stating Amad Diallo is too good to be a 'secondary player' before hinting the Red Devils could sell him for a huge transfer fees next summer transfer window.
“I don’t really know Amad intimately to know what drives him," he said.
“He loves football, he wants to play, so what do you do if you’re at Manchester United? Are you happy just to be a Manchester United player and play six sub appearances and two starts over a season of 60 games, or do you want to go and play?”
“So do they sell him? And if they do they’ll want to recruit [stet] their money which was reputedly €40m or whatever it was. The reality is he won’t be coming here unless they think he is going to be one hell of a player but he needs another year out, he enjoys Sunderland so he can go and keep playing for them.”
“That would be the ideal scenario for us. Pretty unlikely but you never know. If they see him as someone they genuinely feel can play for their first team then they need to keep him on board.”
Mowbray finished off by remarking, “I would suggest they’ll try another level. You would think he’ll go to the Premier League or go back to Italy. My gut feeling for Amad is if he doesn’t stay at Manchester United he goes for big, big money to a top Spanish team really.”
Although, Amad revealed his goals ahead of returning to United, but he still has one eye on the future. He told FourFourTwo: "I haven't played at my best for them [United] yet, but I hope I can come back next season and show my skill. My ultimate goal is to play regularly for Manchester United."
"I haven’t shown my best for them yet, but I hope next season I can return and prove my talent," he added.
"My dream is to play regular football at Manchester United. I know [my transfer] was a lot of money, but I didn’t really think about that."
"There’s no reason to worry about things you can’t influence. I was so happy to sign for Manchester United: it’s a club with a massive history, famous all around the world."
"I remember my first training session after I joined: I was very nervous; there were some huge stars in the dressing room and I was looking around thinking, ‘Wow, I can’t believe I’m here’."
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