The Good, Amad & The Ugly - The Bad Luck That Has Left the Wonderkid in Limbo
For people who haven't been watching his progress in Scotland, but still want to comment on the issue, here's my two cents.
There’s a lot to love about Amad. Manchester Utd’s prospect has excellent technical skill for his age, great pace and looks a real starlet, but it’s just not happened for him thus far. To be more accurate, I feel that a perfect storm of poor circumstances outside his control have stalled the momentum of the career of one of football’s most promising wingers.
Let me get this out of the way, Amad is not a bad player. You may be forgiven for forgetting this with all the furore around his career that he’s still only 19 and he’s made only a handful of top-flight professional appearances. 13 in fact, with only five starts. Having only played six times since signing for Rangers in January, there are a lot of people simply wondering why? That there are people on Twitter saying he’s “sh*te” (idk if I’m allowed to swear) or any other similar sentiment should only tell you one thing, people on Twitter are stupid. Amad is simply, like many of us, unlucky.
In his latest appearance for Rangers, a 3-1 win over Motherwell, Amad was substituted in the first half to make way for defender Calvin Bassey after centre-back Leon Balogun was red-carded. Prior to this moment he’d looked lively and had the best chance of the game in fact. His substitution, necessary to preserve Rangers’ place in the game, is indicative of Amad’s career up to this point. At 18 years old, the Ivorian was parachuted, for an exceptionally large fee, into the most dysfunctional Manchester Utd side in modern memory. This came after about 30 minutes of Serie A football, total. He then was used sparingly in the first 6 months of his Utd career, before being rarely seen amongst the first team at all as Ole Gunnar Solksjaer’s reign descended into chaos. What sort of environment is that to drop a developing teenager into, one where he doesn’t know whether he will be on the bench in the prem or playing in the PL2 every weekend? It’s certainly not his fault he isn’t as good at football yet as Jadon Sancho or Marcus Rashford. I would not even say he is much worse, if at all, than Anthony Elanga, he is just unlucky.
In January he was loaned out to Scottish Premiership champions Rangers, a move that doesn’t seem too bad on paper. Sending a young player on loan to a less-globally publicised environment to a team that plays on the front foot with attacking intent just as his parent club would like to do. Rangers meanwhile receive a highly rated attacking prospect to add depth to their forward line after losing Ianis Hagi to long-term injury. It all seems logical, but that’s not the reality.
For starters, dropping a teenager who by all accounts should still be acclimatising to an English-speaking country, into the Old Firm goldfish bowl is cruel. Don’t get it twisted, the level of scrutiny on Old Firm players is as bad, if not worse, than any you might receive in the Premier League, such are the stakes to so many people. Obviously, Rangers are a club that plays stylish forward-thinking football which in theory would be great for Amad’s development, the problem is there is no space to develop. In a brutal title race with Celtic there is virtually no room for error. You have to hit the ground running and stay in a sprint for every game, just ask Shane Duffy, Aaron Ramsey, Freddie Ljungberg, or any of the other high-profile Premier League stars who have failed to make a lasting impact in Scotland. He made an auspicious start, scoring 20 or so minutes into his debut. However, the winger also fluffed two high profile chances in a game where Rangers dropped points and lost ground on their title rivals. These are the kind of mistakes a developing player can, and rightfully should be able to get away with literally anywhere else. At an Old Firm club though that luxury is not afforded. Rangers cant spend time developing Amad like Manchester Utd might like, they have stuff to win. That’s why game time is limited for their own youngsters too, let alone other clubs’.
Glasgow is an extremely tough place to go. Teams play a low block against the Old Firm, there isn’t much space to run in behind defenders and they will certainly try to leave a physical mark on any player flashy enough to draw their attention. There’s also competition for places at the club to think about as he is far from a nailed-on starter. Although brought in in the wake of Ianis Hagi’s Injury, Amad is far from a direct replacement for the Romania star. Firstly, he will never play ahead of Ryan Kent on the left flank. Kent is far better than Amad right now, or any other current Rangers winger, and that is just a statement of fact. On the right-hand side there is of course only one place for many players. Joe Aribo is often utilised there for his ability to cut in on his left, although can also play through the middle. Scott Arfield is a more physically combative option who gives more in winning the ball and brings late runs into the box. Fashion Jr. is lighting quick, more so than Amad, and is also a better goalscorer than the Ivorian. Lastly, there is Scott Wright. The closest in terms of physical profile and playstyle to Amad. Both are pacy wide players, strong dribblers with sometimes questionably end product but undoubted potential. The difference is Wright is likely to be at the club next season, Amad sadly is not. The pair are both at the same level in the pecking order right now, which is sadly below a few others. The situation may have been different had Amad hit the ground running, but as I said the conditions weren’t really there for it. Wright, who has spent his whole career in Scotland and was at Rangers already for a year prior to Amad’s arrival, has the leg up on him in that regard. It’s a shame but the combination of stakes and circumstances really have unfortunately conspired to slow Amad’s rapid upward trajectory.
At least he learned the power of friendship up here.
So, what’s next for the Ivory Coast international? Well, luckily for Amad he’s hardly the first young player to go out on a loan that didn’t quite work out. Emile Smith-Rowe only played 28 minutes for RB Leipzig on loan in 2019. He did a little better at Huddersfield later on but what remains is that he is now thriving in the Prem. A change in manager from Emery to Arteta and a fresh perspective on his home club jumpstarted his career. With Utd gaining the services of Erik ten Hag from the summer this could be the perfect chance for Amad to truly get going at the top-flight level. ten Hag will be able to see him with a fresh perspective. What remains is that there is a long road to travel for the 19-year-old. Don’t write him off just because he hit a few bumps first.
Also, he goes by Amad. Maybe Amad Diallo. Certainly not Amad Traore. If you’re gonna talk about the guy, at least get it right.