Amad Diallo will always be remembered for his impressive time on loan at Sunderland, and one former teammate has reflected on how the Manchester United star developed on Wearside.
Sunderland have often had the pleasure of getting the best out of their loan stars over the years, but Amad Diallo is arguably one of the brightest to have temporarily graced the pitch at the Stadium of Light.
Now, he’s tearing it up at Manchester United and looks like a bona fide Premier League star. United fans didn’t always know what they had, but Sunderland supporters were vocal about Diallo’s quality from the get-go.
However, when he first arrived at Sunderland, Diallo’s initial impression didn’t exactly suggest he was destined for the top, but he changed that perception very quickly.
Amad Diallo’s first impression was completely different from the player he became
Speaking to the Manchester Evening News about his former teammate, one-time Sunderland man Corry Evans opened up about Diallo and how he appeared to be a shy and fragile player at first, but soon proved everyone wrong in training.
Evans said: “You wouldn’t think he’s strong, but then you get up close to him in training… He’s very wily and he uses his body really intelligently. That impressed me straight away.
“He was a bit shy and we were lucky because we had four or five French boys, so obviously he mingled with them straight away and that helped him settle in. Some of the stuff he was doing in training and then later on in games as the season went on, you could see his ability.”
It took a little time for Diallo to really find his feet, but clearly the project under Tony Mowbray was ideal for the youngster once he settled in.
Evans added: “He started off pretty slow and had to bide his time a little bit. And then it just seemed to click with him and he just went on this brilliant roll when he was our main man every week. He was assisting and scoring for fun.
“I remember one game… it was our last game before the break for the 2022 World Cup. The game was on TV, it was a Friday night against Birmingham, and he cut inside, then bang – finish. From that moment on, you could see he was going to fly when he came back from the break. He was unstoppable at times.”
Loan stars are delivering for Sunderland again this season
Sunderland are flying high this season, and a lot of that success has been down to the loan signings of Chris Mepham, Wilson Isidor, and more recently, Enzo Le Fee.
While Mepham has given the Black Cats a solid foundation in defence, Isidor has become a Sunderland icon for his goal contributions and passionate displays.
The loan signing of Le Fee was an ‘insane’ piece of business by the Black Cats, and could well be the star quality they need to get promoted. If they do, they’ll get to keep him long-term, which is a wild thought.
While Sunderland may have had to let Diallo go, the club is pushing to keep its best talent now. Isidor has already joined permanently, Mepham may do the same, and we still have to see what Jayden Danns can do, too.
Borrowing players is nothing new for Sunderland, but now, it seems they are determined not to live to regret letting superstars slip through their fingers again in the future.