Starlet has sparkled at Stadium of Light

PLAYER PROFILE AMAD DIALLO - SUNDERLAND WINGER

- By Chris Dunlavy

RUMOUR has it that Manchester United are preparing to axe almost half of their current squad this summer.

After an outstanding season in the Championship for Sunderland, Amad Diallo is unlikely to join the exodus.

Signed from Atalanta for a fee of £34m in 2021, the Ivorian winger struggled to settle in Manchester and flopped at Rangers before being sent on a make-or-break loan to the Stadium of Light.

When he was subsequently dropped to the Under-21s by Tony Mowbray in October, it appeared the Red Devils would be required to cut their losses.

Yet since returning to the first-team fold, the 20-year-old had, pre-weekend, scored 11 goals and made two more, electrifying Sunderland supporters with his pace, trickery and invention in a variety of forward roles.

Named Championship Player of the Month for December, Diallo is a shoo-in for the club’s internal player of the year award and was this week nominated for EFL Young Player of the Season alongside Bristol City’s Alex Scott and Middlesbrough’s Hayden Hackney.

Manchester United boss Erik ten Hag has kept a close eye on Diallo and is said to be increasingly convinced that the forward can improve his 25-man Premier League squad.