Manchester United star Amad is performing so well on loan at Sunderland that the club’s manager Tony Mowbray is struggling to understand how they secured him.
Amad joined Sunderland on a season-long loan on deadline day in August after United determined the Championship club to be the best destination for him. The 20-year-old winger arrived with expectations high, given United forked out £37million to sign him from Atalanta in October 2020, but he made a slow start.
Things have really picked up for Amad now, with three goals and an assist coming in his past five Championship matches. And his performance on Friday night in a 2-1 win over Birmingham City, in front of the Sky Sports cameras, really caught the eye.
Amad set up the opening goal for Ellis Simms before producing a dazzling run and curling finish to put the Black Cats 2-0 up. Lukas Jutkiewicz pulled a goal back for Birmingham, who fielded fellow United loanee Hannibal Mejbri in midfield, but Sunderland held on to win and Mowbray was full of praise for Amad post-match.
"As I've been saying, when you've got no strikers you have to find a way, who is going to score the goals, and Amad has come to the party," he said.
"I think there's an understanding now that this kid has got real talent and deserves to be well-respected within the football team. For me to pick Amad over Patrick Roberts, because I said a few weeks ago that I don't think there is a better footballer in the league than Patrick Roberts, yet I left him out for Amad tonight because in training he has been unbelievable with the ball, how fast he is, how direct he is.
HAVE YOUR SAY! Will Amad make it into the Manchester United first team any time soon? Comment below.
“You look at his physical data in every one of the last three or four games and he's had the highest distance covered, the highest sprint distance, the highest intensity energy runs. He played and scored a wonderful goal, but we see him do it every day. He's an amazing footballer. Somebody said he cost £37m from Atalanta when he joined Manchester United, so I find it difficult to believe how he is at Sunderland, but probably the pressure of playing in front of a big crowd and he relishes it.
"He can run all day and he has the ball stuck to his foot, he runs past people and he can score goals like that. We're delighted he's here with us."
Amad was forced off in the second half after being poked in the eye, but Mowbray allayed any fears of a layoff. "He got poked in the eye. His eye was really sore, he couldn't see out of it,” he explained. "I asked him if he wanted to stay on and he said he couldn't see and he was in a bit of pain. Hopefully that will settle down, and he'll be fine I'm sure."
