Man Utd wonderkid told: You've got no end product!
FT Desk
- 6 Oct 2022 09:32 BST
- 3 min read
Manchester United youngster Amad Diallo has featured five times for Sunderland in the Championship this season, but he's yet to get off the mark…
Diallo joined Man Utd from Atalanta for €40 million in October 2020 after lighting up the Italian youth age group competitions, but the step up has been difficult for the Ivorian.
After a mixed spell on loan at Rangers in the Scottish Premiership last season, he is now on a one-year deal with Sunderland, the Black Cats promoted to the Championship last term under Alex Neil, who has since been replaced by Tony Mowbray.
#MUFC loanee Amad Diallo was on target for Rangers at the weekend 🔥pic.twitter.com/biwsHomrHU
— Football Transfers (@Transfersdotcom) May 9, 2022
Diallo has only started just one of his five games, however - the goalless draw with Blackpool on Tuesday - and Mowbray, whilst respecting the 20-year-old's talent, has explained why.
"He's just a young boy really, but he's supremely talented," he said. "To see his touch, and see how fast and direct he is, it's a lovely thing to watch on the training pitch. You see how talented he is, and you can see why he's at Man Utd.
Mowbray: 'He needs to find a better end product'
"But you can also understand why he's out on loan, to develop the core materials you need to be a competitive footballer. He needs to find a better end product.
"He has all these soft, lovely feet and brilliant skills. But he needs to shoot when he gets in the box. When he sees the goal, he needs to shoot, and he needs to add goals and assists to his name.
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"It's not enough just to be a lovely footballer who can dribble and go past people, but never have an end product. That's the message, yet it's not a simple one. You have to keep repeating it to him all the time. We have to drill into him that we want him to shoot and get in the box. Can he score a scruffy goal; can he get a rebound off the goalie? We have to get him into those positions."
Diallo has featured nine times for United's first team, and boasts a Premier League assist plus a goal in the Europa League, but he will need to finetune his game if first-team football at Old Trafford is to be in his future.
