Amad Diallo should be loaned to a Premier League club as next step in his development – Man United News And Transfer News

7

The future of Amad Diallo is a hot topic at Manchester United after the attacking prodigy stole the show on loan at Sunderland.

After scoring 14 goals in 42 appearances in the Championship, fans are clamouring to insert Amad into the first-team picture and let him run riot. However, as The Athletic reported recently, manager Erik ten Hag is of the opinion that Amad will be assessed in the pre-season and might be sent on loan to a Premier League club as the next step in his evolution.

This is the correct course of action.

Playing at Old Trafford in front of 75,000 fans is another challenge altogether than playing at Sunderland, who were not expected to do anything substantial in the 2022/23 Championship season.

A team of young upstarts at the club flourished together and Amad was as helped by this environment as he helped the club.

Manchester United is a different case altogether. After a good but not great season, Erik ten Hag’s side will be expected to take the next step in their process. Consequently, the margin for error at the club is set to decrease further.

Amad only needs to look at the fate of Facundo Pellistri this season. Despite being an Uruguayan international, Pellistri struggled for game time as Ten Hag even opted to play Bruno Fernandes out wide instead of giving him a chance.

He ended up making just 11 appearances across all competitions, totalling up to only 280 minutes of football. That is a wasted season in his development.

At his age, Amad needs to play regularly at this point in his career. Furthermore, he needs to be challenged to take the step up. However, there is a fine balance between taking the next step and trying to skip steps to reach the top instantly.

That is where Erik ten Hag’s reported inclination to send him on loan again, this time to a Premier League club, comes to the fore. After a successful Championship loan, the natural next step for Amad will be to replicate those performances at another club in the Premier League.

Dean Henderson is a prime example of a loan pathway planned correctly. The goalkeeper got promoted from the Championship with Sheffield United and then spent another season with them in the Premier League. Today, he is an established Premier League-level player.

Amad needs to do something similar. The glimpses of potential are clear to see. The curled strikes from outside the box, the cute linking passes on the edge of the opposition box, and the silky dribbling skills all point to a player who has all the right tools.

In such cases, it becomes even more crucial to not dent the player’s confidence with an abrupt step up. The raw tools are clear to see. In Erik ten Hag, he has a manager who has overseen the development of many youth prospects in his career.

If Amad is to be the next one, then a Premier League loan is the best course of action. After all, big things come to those who wait, and the potential doesn’t come much bigger than Amad’s.