Manchester United still have a right-wing problem, some 14 years after seeing Cristiano Ronaldo leave the club to join Real Madrid at the peak of his powers. The likes of Antonio Valencia, Wilfried Zaha, Adnan Januzaj and Angel Di Maria were all brought in to fill that void, but none of them came even close to making the same impact.

There was genuine hope that Jadon Sancho could buck the trend after his £73 million ($28m) move from Borussia Dortmund in 2021, but he’s proven to be another great pretender. And then there’s Antony, the polarising winger from Brazil who seems to have no right foot and favours style over substance.

Antony cost over £10m more than Sancho last summer as Erik ten Hag launched another successful raid on his former club Ajax, but was just as ineffective in his debut season at Old Trafford. And it’s unlikely that the 23-year-old will suddenly transform into a match-winner next term.

But Ten Hag also now has another option at his disposal: Amad Diallo, who returned to Carrington last week after spending the 2022-23 campaign on loan at Sunderland. United initially agreed a £37m ($47m) deal with Atalanta for Amad when he was still just an 18-year-old in January 2021, and former head coach Ole Gunnar Solskjaer described him as “one of the most exciting young prospects in the game”.

Amad has not yet been given the platform to live up to that billing in Manchester, but he certainly deserves it after his short but memorable stint at the Stadium of Light. The Ivory Coast international was Sunderland’s top scorer as they narrowly missed out on promotion after a play-off semi-final defeat to Luton Town, with one of his 14 goals coming in the first leg of that tie as he lashed home an unstoppable curling shot from 20 yards out.

Championship defences couldn’t cope with Amad, and Premier League teams won’t want to face him either. If United are going to improve on last season’s third-place finish, they need someone who can pose a far greater threat down the right flank – and taking a calculated risk on Amad could pay off ten-fold.

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‘He should be playing in tier one’

Following his unsuccessful loan stint at Rangers in the latter part of the 2021–2022 season, Amad wanted to regain his self-assurance under a manager that fully believed in his potential and talents. Let’s take a look at Tony Mowbray, who, within two days of taking over as Sunderland manager in August of last year, forced through Amad’s transfer to the club.

During the season, the Ivorian attacker made his way into Mowbray’s starting lineup bit by little. On October 22, after scoring in a 4-2 loss to Burnley at home, he was chosen to lead the line against Luton the following week. Even though Amad didn’t double his goal total, he remained a threat all day and helped Sunderland force a 1-1 draw.

“Today, Mad was incredible,” Mowbray remarked following the match. “Not only did he force their ‘keeper’ to make saves, but he also showed intensity and aggression in winning the ball back.” It tells it all that I trusted him in central midfield in the end. Truly amazing, and that’s what he needs to accomplish.

After contributing to all four of Sunderland’s goals in November, Amad was nominated for Championship Player of the Month and received additional accolades from his boss. “You’re not bought for £37 million unless you’re a phenomenal talent,” Mowbray stated. “I watch him in training with our players and he does some extraordinary things with the ball, its stuck to his foot it’s unbelievable how talented he is.”

Thanks to his creativity in the last third, Amad helped Sunderland secure a play-off position in the end, and among the club’s ardent supporters, he became something of a cult hero. For a long time, the Black Cats lacked a true performer on their roster—someone who has the courage to charge at opponents and make the daring passes that often provide the greatest gains.

Every week, Amad managed to have the Stadium of Light packed, in part because he appeared to be managing his own competition for the goal of the season. Apart from his spectacular performance against Luton during the playoffs, Amad also showcased impressive long-range plays against Wigan, Birmingham, and Preston.

Naturally, Mowbray was in favor of keeping Amad with the team and was disappointed that Sunderland had not reached an agreement with United for a two-year loan before their last Championship league match. However, Kristjaan Speakman, the sporting director of the Black Cats, has subsequently been refreshingly candid about the circumstances.

“He should be playing in tier one, in England, La Liga, Bundesliga, wherever,” Speakman recently told the Northern Echo. “That’s the level of player he is. The staff here, the players and supporters have helped him get back on that journey and hopefully that will attract more players to want to come to Sunderland.”

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Amad vs Antony

Antony has reason to be concerned about the fact that Amad has returned to Old Trafford as a more experienced, complete player. Though it turned out to be a false dawn, the Brazilian showboater had an amazing start to his United career, becoming the first new acquisition to score in three straight Premier League games.

Although some club officials have privately acknowledged that United spent too much money on Antony ($111 million), at £85 million, he does have a lot of valuable qualities. He tries extremely hard to win the ball back, and Ten Hag has called him a “fighter” because of his exceptional left foot.

But the truth is that he lacks the final product that United urgently needs and is simply too predictable moving ahead. Surprisingly, Antony is also slow in the speed category. When he does manage to create a yard of separation with a showy move, defenders are too frequently able to capitalize on it.

Although Amad is mostly left-footed like Antony, he has much greater skill on his right foot, which provides him an immediate edge over the Brazilian. Although Amad’s cuts inside, Aaron Wan-Bissaka will still be urged to overlap because the Ivorian can also carry the ball down the line and cross it himself.

throughout the previous season, Amad attempted 5.4 dribbles on average compared to Antony’s 3.7. Despite his smaller frame, Amad showed throughout his Championship run that he could match the former Ajax player’s strength on the ball.

To be fair, Antony averaged more shots on target and produced marginally more chances than Amad overall. However, the 21-year-old’s ceiling is significantly greater than Antony’s, and United may be able to better take advantage of counter-openings with his rapid turn of speed.