Sunderland manager Tony Mowbray admits he would like to keep working with Manchester United after Amad Diallo's outstanding loan spell this season.
Amad joined the Black Cats for the season last summer, with Mowbray hoping to add star quality for his sides' return to the Championship.
The 20-year-old enjoyed and outstanding campaign at the Stadium of Light, his 14 goals and three assists helping his side into the play-offs, where they were beaten by the eventually promoted Luton Town in the semi-finals.
United technical director Darren Fletcher kept a open dialogue with both Amad and Sunderland throughout the loan spell, and the second-tier outfit impressed those around Old Trafford in trusting a young player and allowing them to flourish. And now Mowbray hopes to continue the working relationship through the summer.
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"I hope we can keep a close relationship with United, if they need to loan young players out," Mowbray told United's official website. "It’s amazing really, I’ve been in management a long time, like you’ve said, and even the likes of Joe Rothwell, who I had at Blackburn, came through the United ranks [Joe is now with Bournemouth in the Premier League].
"Whether they never made it to the first-team level, they all were bedded through and came through that system really.
"I think the game is littered with Manchester United players who came through their system, through their Academy system, and generally what you know is you get grounded, talented footballers who know what to do with the football. They know how to deal with the ball.
"When I’m looking for players, I always look to see what their background is, where they were brought up and the core values of what their football brain is about. You never really fall short with Manchester United players, whether they made it at first-team level or not as, generally, they’ve all been brought up properly.
Amad will join up with United for their pre-season trip to the United States, and the youngster will have a fresh chance to impress manager Erik ten Hag and make a push for the first-team. But a number of other youngsters - the likes of Alvaro Fernandez, Shola Shoretire and Hannibal Mejbri - could be sent out on loan once again.
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