Feyenoord are reportedly ready to make a fresh bid to take Amad Diallo to the Eredivisie from January. The Dutch club were advancing in a. deal to sign the Ivory Coast winger during the summer transfer window, but. thigh injury ended that as the player would have been out of action for a few months, rendering the deal void, at least until the next transfer window.
The 19-year-old arrived at Manchester United from Atalanta during the January transfer window in 2021, after a deal was agreed towards the end of the summer transfer window in 2020. Amad joined United for an initial fee of £21.25 million, which could rise to £34 million if the add-ons are activated. So far the winger has been used sparingly, achieving more at U23 level than for the first team.
It is stated that Feyenoord still want to sign the winger on loan with the two clubs aiming to sort out a deal to be completed as soon as possible after the transfer window opens again on the 1 January 2022. The reports come from The Mirror, with them getting the information from Transfermarkt regarding the Dutch club. It would be a good transfer move for the teenager, who needs to find regular football in order to develop as a player.
Amad may be an inexperienced player but he has represented his country, playing with teammate and compatriot Eric Bailly during the summer Olympics in Tokyo. This led to the season starting late for the duo, which is where the winger got his injury, once he returned to training – although it could have happened at any time. This move would be beneficial for the winger as it will give him time, albeit away from scrutiny.
The Ivorian has played eight times at first team level for United, scoring one goal and one assist. At U23 level, he has played just three times, scoring four goals and three assists, which is impressive. During his time at Atalanta, he made just five appearances, scoring one goal – playing just 59 minutes of football at first team level, which was ended when United brought him to Manchester.
Arsenal academy player Reiss Nelson moved to the Rotterdam club in the summer, with the Dutch side seeking ore attacking talent for their squad. The England U21 winger has yet to feature for the club after suffering a groin injury, which could be the reason why the Rotterdam club now want to re-establish the loan move for Amad as the signing of the Arsenal player has not really strengthened their attack.
It has been reported that Amad could be back in training at some point in the not too distant future, which would be good for him and the team. United have a wealth of attacking talent at this time and Amad’s availability, when fully fit will be great for that. However, I would expect to see him play more football at U23 level, which will strengthen the squad at that level at this stage of the season.
The path to first team football at United will be tougher for Amad as he now have Jadon Sancho and Cristiano Ronaldo ahead of him, not that Ronaldo, who will mostly play as a central striker, will impact him. However, Anthony Martial, Mason Greenwood and Marcus Rashford will add to the competition for places in the starting XI. This is one of the reasons why a loan spell in January would be good for the Ivorian winger, as that will give him more confidence ahead of him breaking into the first team at the club.
I would fully expect this transfer to take place as soon as is possible as it was all but agreed when injury stopped it from happening. Of course, other clubs could come forward and state their case to signing the winger, but United will need guarantees of playing time as that is the whole purpose of a loan spell. If he goes to a club that is not going to give him playing time, there would be little point in completing that as it will just be wasting the players time.
Written by John Walker
