Face buried inside his shirt, Amad Diallo didn’t look like a player who had just finished on the winning team for Manchester United against Liverpool and booked his ticket to next season’s Champions League.
Diallo was still hurting over the mistake moments after coming on as a half-time substitute for Benjamin Sesko that led to Dominik Szoboszlai dragging Liverpool back into the game on Sunday. Michael Carrick noticed the player’s pain as he walked on to the pitch at the end of United’s 3-2 win at Old Trafford. He wrapped Diallo in an embrace and muttered a few words of encouragement into the little Ivorian’s ear.
Carrick defended Diallo after the game and again before the 23-year-old makes a sentimental return to Sunderland on Saturday. ‘Amad’s absolutely fine,’ said the United head coach. ‘Mistakes are part of football and I’ve made plenty of them as a player.
‘He’s got nothing to feel down or upset or frustrated about because he’s got so much to look forward to. He’s so talented and so exciting and an absolute joy to work with. So he’s in a good place.’
Maybe so, but Diallo’s infectious smile and boundless energy don’t appear to have been quite the same since he returned from the Africa Cup of Nations in January just in time for Carrick’s first game against Manchester City.
Sunderland helped revive Amad Diallo’s career in 2022 before he returned to Man United
The player who benefitted more than any other under Ruben Amorim is arguably the only one who seems to have gone slightly backwards under his replacement. Statistically, Diallo has yet to contribute to United scoring this year, the last of his two goals and three assists coming against Bournemouth in December.
That seems harsh considering his interception tackle in the build-up to Sesko scoring against Brentford two games ago. Even then, however, Diallo was replaced at half-time in what Carrick said was a tactical move.
With Sesko struggling to recover from a shin injury, Diallo could be restored to the starting line-up for his first appearance at the Stadium of Light since leaving the club that helped revive his fledgling career in 2022.
Indeed, Tony Mowbray was putting a protective arm around Diallo long before that responsibility fell to Carrick. Diallo gave an interview to Sky Sports this week in which he described Mowbray as a ‘dad and a manager’. When the interviewer showed him a video message sent from his old Sunderland boss, the player was clearly moved.
‘Don’t make me cry!’ said Diallo. ‘Why didn’t you tell me about the video first? I’m so emotional.’
Mowbray had broken off from filming a Sky Sports special about Coventry City to record it in his back garden. ‘The fact he got slightly emotional because of a 30-second video from me still shows that he’s got good human qualities,’ the 62-year-old tells Daily Mail Sport. ‘I see footballers as human beings, and I try and treat them like that. Try and guide them. Try and understand their lives. Finding the inner child, really.’
Amad describes Tony Mowbray, his boss at Sunderland, as a ‘dad and a manager’
Mowbray had only been in charge at Sunderland for a day when Diallo joined on loan in August 2022. The teenager had made nine appearances for United after signing from Atalanta in a deal worth up to £37.2million, and then spent an unhappy loan spell at Rangers.
A former Celtic player and manager, Mowbray knew all about the Old Firm pressure in Glasgow. ‘Unfortunately for Amad, he’d obviously not had a great experience at Rangers. I think he was damaged a little bit. He didn’t have the confidence. He wasn’t believing in himself. That shirt weighs really heavy.
‘Life would be really tough for a young player at Rangers if they’re coming second. You know, even just to go to the shops isn’t very enjoyable. I felt Amad probably was questioning if he was going to make it in football. He’d gone to United for a lot of money, but he’d been on loan and wasn’t making an impact.
‘As a young player at Celtic coming second to Paul Gascoigne and Ally McCoist, I could associate with how difficult life would have been for him. I had an affinity with him and could put my arm around him. He came to Sunderland where I’d like to think he was given the licence to show everybody how talented he was.’
As Mowbray coaxed the best out of Diallo, the youngster’s performances in training meant he had to play. ‘The ball seemed to stick to his left foot. Nobody could get it off him. I just remember sitting after training one day and thinking we had to get him in the team. It was just hitting you in the face.’
Mowbray had seen similar potential with the likes of James Maddison and Harvey Elliott when he was manager of Coventry and Blackburn. ‘You can feel it with these players: give them the ball and let the magic happen. That’s what Amad was for Sunderland. Get him the ball and let him dance.
‘All I do is I try and give them a platform. Once we gave that to Amad, he was flying. He came in and lit it up. The team just clicked.’
Amad has struggled for United this season and made a significant error in the win over Liverpool
Diallo contributed 14 goals and four assists as Sunderland fell just short in the Championship play-offs. He went back to United that summer a new man, and will run out at the Stadium of Light today a favourite among both sets of fans.
‘I’m happy that I’ve been able to play a little part in his development as a footballer,’ says Mowbray. ‘I feel proud when he does something special – and he’s done some special things. Yet last weekend he cost them a goal, didn’t he? Square pass across the park and the boy ran away and scored. I feel all the hurt and the enjoyment for him.
‘At the end of that season, Amad was going back to United. He had his brand new little baby and his lady with him. I shook his hand and wished him well. Sent him off on his life really.’
