Sunderland manager Tony Mowbray has admitted that he expects loanee Amad to be included in Manchester United's squad for their pre-season tour of America this forthcoming summer.
The 20-year-old, who joined United from Italian club Atalanta in January 2021, joined Sunderland on a season-long loan deal last August, offering him the opportunity to experience regular first-team football in England for the very first time. He has excelled at the Stadium of Light, scoring 12 goals and grabbing four assists in 39 appearances in league and cup.
Amad could make his final appearance for the Black Cats when they face Preston North End on the final day of the Championship season at Deepdale on Monday, but they will be hoping to extend their campaign and qualify for the end-of-season play-offs. The Wearside outfit are currently seventh in the standings, two points shy of the play-off places.
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But regardless of whether Sunderland do manage to extend their campaign, Amad has most certainly benefitted from earning first-team football week-in, week-out this term, so much so that United manager Erik ten Hag is understood to be open to including him in his plans at Old Trafford next season. And Mowbray, who has played a key role in the youngster's development this term, believes the Reds will use pre-season to evaluate whether or not he is ready to make the step up.
"I think Man United are happy, but I think the next step is for them to take him on pre-season to America," said Mowbray, as quoted by the Sunderland Echo. "That's what I think is going to happen. Then they'll see how he gets on.
"They know what they've got, they bought him, but I think when the new manager came in, it was right on the cusp of whether they were going to keep him or not. He liked some of the stuff, but then he maybe wasn't sure about other things.
"I'm sure he's been watching Amad's clips from games, just as I watch all of our players who are out on loan, and seeing what he can do. But he’ll need to see him on a daily basis and feel what he brings.
"I'm sure everyone will have an opinion on whether he's good enough or not good enough for Man United, but the reality is that the manager needs to watch him, see and feel him in a game, and see what he brings."
Mowbray also admitted that United loan manager Les Parry visited Sunderland's Academy of Light training ground earlier this week to discuss the winger's progress.
"The loan manager from Manchester United was in this week and we had a good chat," Mowbray added. "I was saying it's a shame we didn't do a two-year loan!"
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