FAST DOWNLOAD
Manchester United are being urged to let “hungry” winger Amad Diallo “make mistakes” while enjoying a regular run of games.
The 21-year-old Ivory Coast international has been restricted to just 46 minutes of Premier League action this season. He has figured in two FA Cup fixtures, netting a dramatic winner in a memorable quarter-final clash with Liverpool, but remains stuck behind the likes of Alejandro Garnacho and Antony in the pecking order.
Former United winger Lee Sharpe believes the time has come for Amad to get a chance, telling BetVictor: “He looks sharp and tidy. He got involved against Liverpool and scored the winner, so I don’t see why he can’t have a bit more time on the right wing for the side. You look at how Antony has struggled this season as well – sometimes when you’re struggling like that, it’s better to be left out of the team for a few weeks, even if he played well against Chelsea. If the manager maybe plays Amad instead and says, ‘you’ve got four or five games, it doesn’t matter if you make mistakes – just go out there and do your thing’, then that could give him a good opportunity to prove himself. He’s hungry and he looks sharp, so I think he can definitely be given a bit more of a go.”
Amad was left on the bench for United’s thrilling 4-3 defeat at Chelsea, with that contest seeing more questions asked of Erik ten Hag – with new stakeholder Sir Jim Ratcliffe among those in attendance at Stamford Bridge. Sharpe added on the managerial debate at Old Trafford: “I think Sir Jim Ratcliffe needs to have these performances and results at the back of his mind when summer arrives. If Erik ten Hag isn’t making the decisions and playing the game in the way INEOS and Ratcliffe want it, then he may have other plans of bringing someone in and may want to look elsewhere. It’s a difficult one – do you give Ten Hag more time and more resources to try and kick on next season, or do you go with someone brand new and give them the money to spend?
“United are certainly not making enough strides forwards. I think it’s been the story of the season so far – they put in an outstanding performance against Liverpool in the FA Cup and followed it up with a shocking one against Brentford. The consistency just isn’t there. They’ve had to change the starting XI a lot because of injuries throughout the season, but it still doesn’t explain why they’re playing so poorly in certain games and getting completely outplayed by some teams. It’s definitely something that needs to be addressed by the manager and by INEOS at the end of the season. I’d personally give Ten Hag another 12 months, but we’ll see what happens between now and the start of next season.”
United will be back in action on Sunday when playing host to old adversaries Liverpool once again, with the Red Devils having eight Premier League games left to take in this season while also readying themselves for an FA Cup semi-final showdown with Coventry.