Ten Hag makes Amad admission after match-winning FA Cup display

Amad Diallo has been a Manchester United player for over three years but had scarcely made an impact before last weekend.

A deal of around €41 million was first agreed between Man Utd and Atalanta back in October 2020, with the Ivorian landing at Old Trafford in January 2021.

Having scored on one of his first outings, during a Europa League game against AC Milan, Amad’s career then stalled and he’s been restricted to only 13 appearances in his career to date with the club.

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The 21-year-old has had loan spells at Rangers and Sunderland, where he impressed in the Championship last season, and was widely tipped for another temporary move last summer.

However, a knee injury scuppered those plans with the Cote d’Ivoire international requiring surgery and, ultimately, United could not send him out.

He was reported to be unhappy with the situation, with the club making plans to ship him out again in the winter.

That injury ruled Amad out of first-team contention until the final match of 2023, making his comeback against Nottingham Forest in a Premier League defeat.

Talks about a loan or permanent deal for January, meanwhile, came to nothing.

Diallo on the comeback trail for Man Utd

However, the winger would now appear to be well on the way towards recovery, meaning any talk of a move is, for now, in the past.

He has waited patiently for an opportunity to make an impact and he did so on the biggest stage on Sunday.

Sprung from the bench by manager Erik ten Hag with United seeking to rescue an FA Cup quarter-final against Liverpool at Old Trafford, Diallo finished expertly to give his side the victory, 4-3 at the death, in the most thrilling of circumstances.

Such was the euphoria in the aftermath, Amad forgot he was booked, subsequently earning another yellow card for taking his shirt off in celebration and being marched down the tunnel after being dismissed.

It hardly mattered by that stage as his contributions gave United a famous victory over their oldest rivals.

After the game Ten Hag praised the former Atalanta youth team prospect while also mentioning another under-fire United winger who made a game-winning impact in Antony.

Ten Hag 'so happy' for Diallo and Antony

"I'm so happy for him," the manager said.

"He is one of the players with a huge setback this season, a bad injury, returning from it, but returning to a team where there is a lot of competition for his position.

"He does not always get the time to play he deserves by his training performances but then he is coming on, then he shows his contribution, scoring a goal.

"But we know he can do it, we know he has the key moments where he can decide a game. I am very pleased he got the winner.

"But we had another sub, Antony, who scores an equaliser, he is also in a problematic situation but you see he is fighting as well, he wants to contribute as well. I'm very happy with the bench today."