The Ivory Coast winger was given just four league starts during a disappointing spell in Glasgow but it helped mould him into the Red Devils' talisman
Ruben Amorim recently claimed that everyone at Manchester United is underperforming, but he was not being entirely honest. Amid the chaos and general decline at a club that has lost its way, Amad Diallo is playing out of his skin. The self-confessed ‘chill guy’ has fire in his belly and recently he has been forced to carry the team, which Amorim believes is the worst in Manchester United’s history, on his back.
The 22-year-old has scored four goals in his last three starts, and since November has 14 direct goal contributions. It is scary to imagine where this dysfunctional United would be without him. Since Amorim has been in charge, Amad has earned United eight extra points in the Premier League, turning certain defeats against Manchester City and Southampton into victories while setting up the goal in the 1-1 draw at Ipswich Town and scoring the equaliser in the 2-2 draw at Anfield.
Had he not intervened in those moments, United would be just two points above the relegation zone rather than enjoying a 10-point buffer from the unthinkable. Amad's emergence as United’s saviour has been particularly hard to fathom for Thursday's opponents Rangers, who had the Red Devils' latest talisman at their disposal three years ago but were far from impressed by him…
GettyExciting signing
Amad joined Rangers on loan from United in January 2022 as a highly-talented and highly-valuable 19-year-old, but one who needed to get to grips with British football and get minutes under his belt. Amad had made only 19 appearances for the Red Devils, the majority of which were as a substitute, following his big-money move from Atalanta.
In fact, he needed senior experience of any kind, as he had played just 76 minutes of professional football when United agreed to pay Atalanta a total fee of £37 million to sign him a year earlier. But Rangers were nothing like the basket case United are right now. They were Scottish champions and locked in a tight title race with Celtic while also in the knockout rounds of the Europa League.
“Rangers were going well in the league, Giovani Van Bronkchorst had made an unbelievable start in his first three months, and that January window Rangers needed two signings that could potentially tilt the league in their favour," explains journalist Jordan Campbell of , who covered Rangers at the time.
"The right-wing position was the one that was the most obvious gap in the team. Gio knew what he wanted from his wingers, he wanted one-v-one guys who could go outside and inside, were really direct, so Amad fitted the bill. The price tag made it quite exciting and so did the fact he was coming from Manchester United."
Rangers sporting director Ross Wilson described Amad as "a really exciting signing" while Van Bronckhorst, who had succeeded Steven Gerrard at Ibrox, said the winger would "add a lot to our squad".
AdvertisementGettyFrom dream debut to losing faith
Amad could hardly have had a better debut, scoring a tap-in within five minutes at Ross County and proving he was much tougher than many people expected. Particularly the home defence, who unsuccessfully tried to bully him off the ball.
That opening display earned Amad a starting berth in the Old Firm derby at Celtic Park the following week, but that proved to be too stern a test for the youngster, who was one of three players to be hauled off at half-time as Rangers trailed their hated rivals 3-0. Amad was described as a "rabbit in headlights" by ex-Scotland international Steven Thompson, and he started just two more league games, one of which came after Rangers had already surrendered the title to Celtic.
"In hindsight that really backfired. It was Gio’s first defeat and it meant that Rangers, for the first time in months, were actually behind. So I think that changed a lot of the dynamics and the mood around the place," says Campbell. "They were leading, everything was hunky dory, and then all of a sudden there's a crisis and Rangers are playing catch up. I wouldn’t go as far to say Amad was a scapegoat, but there was a sense that Gio lost trust in him."
GettyDebacle at Dundee
Things took a turn for the worse later that month when Rangers went to Dundee United needing to win to realistically stay in the title race. Amad came off the bench, and although he was on the pitch when Joe Aribo scored, he had riled fans by pulling out of a tackle. A tough afternoon was then capped when he burst though on goal with Aribo to his left, but opted to shoot and hit the post, to howls of derision from the Dundee fans.
Former Rangers player Derek Ferguson was scathing in his criticism, saying "When you come on the park, you've got to be ready. Amad Diallo just looks a bit half-hearted, so he's got to produce something." The popular Rangers podcast also showed their disapproval. "Talent without heart is nothing," they wrote on Twitter, also recommending Amad spend a week in Possil, one of Glasgow’s roughest neighbourhoods, to toughen up.
"The fans gave him a hard time that day because if there's one thing that Rangers fans do not accept, it’s jumping out of tackles, even if you’re a five-foot-five winger," Campbell says. "After he hit the post you could see the confidence draining from him. The Amad now you see is pretty ruthless in those positions, that was the big difference. It felt quite harsh that day, you think he’s a young guy from the Ivory Coast and this is something quite brutal for him to go through."
Getty Bystander in Europe
Amad did not play again in the league for nearly two months, with Ange Postecoglou's Celtic proving too strong in the title race, going unbeaten from September to May. The winger was just a bystander in Rangers' epic journey to the Europa League final, too, as despite being part of every matchday squad following his arrival, he never got on the pitch. His highlight was celebrating the semi-final second leg win over RB Leipzig on the pitch at Ibrox, sporting a Union Jack bucket hat.
"The European run was basically built on the back of Gio being a really, really good cup manager and identifying one or two things that in those knockout games gave Rangers the edge. Amad wasn't really at the stage of career where he was ready to go implement those sort of high-risk pressing strategies," Campbell says. "That's not really his game either. I don't think then he was really someone you’d think he's going to go after somebody and then make them uncomfortable. And that’s what Rangers’ European run was based on, saying 'Let’s make this absolute Hell for teams and press the whole pitch'. And it worked."
In the final against Eintracht Frankfurt in Seville, Amad was relegated to fourth-choice winger as Scott Wright began the game, Fashion Sakala replaced him and then Aaron Ramsey came on in the 117th minute ahead of the penalty shootout. Ramsey was the only player to miss from the spot as the Gers lost out.
