3 days Ago By [email protected] (Samuel Luckhurst)
Who to credit for Amad? Ole Gunnar Solskjaer, Manchester United 's manager at the time, was not the driving force behind that £37million transfer deadline day deal in 2020. Solskjaer started him twice and okayed a season-long loan to Feyenoord before Amad suffered injury. John Murtough was not appointed the football director for another five-and-a-half months and Ed Woodward will not have filed the scouting reports.
An agency was heavily involved in negotiations and did recommend Amad to United's deal-maker at the time, Matt Judge. Nearly four years on, it is a deal that is ageing well. When United were not playing well at Southampton, Amad was playing well.
He was involved in the three openings they had before Cameron Archer's momentum-swinging penalty and he was the talk of the press lounge at the interval. READ MORE: United set for Amad contract talks READ MORE: De Ligt explains how the United dressing room planned winning response to Liverpool loss In a 19th-minute foot race with Lesley Ugochukwu, Amad demonstrated he is not so much finding his feet in the United first team but found his feet. Ugochukwu is taller, heavier and possibly just as quick.
Noussair Mazraoui's lofted pass for Amad was loose and the chances of retaining the ball were 50-50. Rather than knock the ball ahead and continue down a blind alley, Amad opened his eyes. He adjusted the direction of his run to place his body in front of Ugochukwu, whose momentum carried him past the ball.
Amad spun, looked up and switched the play to a marauding Bruno Fernandes. A United staff member highlighted it over the half-time sausage rolls at St Mary's. Amad's wing play is rolling back the years.
Wingers can madden managers and supporters with their decision-making well into their 20s. The 22-year-old Amad's use of the ball was almost always perfect at Southampton. His timed lay-off for the overlapping Marcus Rashford led to the corner Rashford eventually scored from.
That was via a square pass from Amad, his second Premier League assist. It was not particularly difficult but, again, he made the right decision. His performance during that unsettling first half-an-hour was one of his most mature spells in a United shirt.
Amad's name is now one of the most popular requests at the Old Trafford Megastore. He held his shirt aloft bearing his name and number after that unforgettable 121st-minute FA Cup quarter-final winner against Liverpool to ensure it would be remembered. That day assured Amad of cult status.
Amad celebrates against Liverpool (Image: 2024 Manchester United FC) Rather than settle with the fleeting adoration, he has become an established starter. Until his first meaningful Premier League start, he was only sent on by Erik ten Hag with United losing or drawing. With Amad starting, United started winning.
Deemed too callow for an FA Cup final start, he lined up against Manchester City at Wembley in last month's Community Shield. He only disappointed by selflessly seeking Mason Mount when he should have shot at goal in the goalless first half. Amad was electric during pre-season and made up for lost time a year after he left the MetLife Stadium in New Jersey on crutches.
He did not play again for five months. United had intended to reintegrate him into the first team squad and his lengthy absence reprieved Facundo Pellistri. Once Amad was match-fit in late December, United remained consistent and he stayed.
Pellistri left for Granada on loan in January. Amad returned from a five-month lay-off at Nottingham Forest Both right wingers joined United on the same day nearly four years ago. Pellistri was also a bit of a super sub but he fluffed every audition as a starter.
After three tepid starts in heavily-rotated teams in his first year, Amad's fourth was against Premier League leaders Arsenal in May. He kept his place and lashed in his first league goal three days later against Newcastle. Ten Hag erred in dropping Amad for the visit of Liverpool and if he is back on the bench against Barnsley in the League Cup it could be a charitable chance for Antony.
His only appearance all season was as an 89th-minute entrant at Brighton. Amad was in far-flung Yaoundé in Cameroon, 4,900 miles away from Manchester, last Tuesday. He still stayed on for the entirety against Southampton, three weeks on from his illogical withdrawal for Antony along the south coast.
Amad played 90 minutes at Southampton At Brighton, Amad was mourning the death of his father’s wife, whom he regarded as much of a mother as his own. Despite the sad news, he asked to play and scored in his fifth league start. Murtough was privately a vocal champion of Amad's.
During his season-long loan at Sunderland, Murtough told a confidant all Amad needed was a run of ten starts to exhibit his qualities. Amad struck six goals in his first ten successive starts. He has lined up in seven of United's last nine competitive fixtures, scoring two and assisting two.
His qualities extend beyond the core numbers, as Ugochukwu discovered. Amad maybe deserves all the credit..
