Manchester United have a problem with Amad Diallo. His superb volley secured the points at Nottingham Forest, after being key to wins against Sunderland, Liverpool and Brighton prior to the draw with Forest. The Ivorian came close to clinching victory at the City Ground against the Red Devils in the closing stages, but was denied with a superb goal-line block. But Amad was targeted at the other end of the pitch, with Callum Hudson-Odoi celebrating for the 23-year-old and Morgan Gibbs-White exploiting his weakness in the air to head home.
It is true that Ruben Amorim made a great contribution to Amad. He struggled to break into the starting XI under manager Erik ten Hag, but is now a strong candidate for the wing-back spot on the right. However, placing Amado in this role only increases the number of times he is put in uncomfortable situations. The biggest problem? This is also the only realistic route for Amorim’s players to break into the starting lineup.
That’s because Brian Mbeumo, who plays even more of a right-wing role than Amad, has been one of United’s best players this season, with five goals and one assist in 11 appearances. Signed in the summer, he and his fellow African forwards developed a good understanding and partnership to panic opposition defenses.
However, as the draw against Forest proved, this partnership can also help the opposition attack. There are serious pros and cons to using Amad as a wing-back. He can be used defensively, as Hudson-Odoi and Gibbs-White discovered. But on the flip side, he can also have a big impact in the final third.
Analyzing United’s draw on Match of the Day, Ashley Williams said of Amad: “Difficult is the right word. He’s in the team because of his attacking qualities, but he can’t play in the two No. 10 positions because we have Mbeumo and (Mateus) Cunha, who are playing very well.”
“So he was playing right wing-back, but he found himself in a defensive position, which is not his strength. He was in a centre-back position, trying to head the ball out and that was not his strength. And they conceded goals from there.”
“On the contrary, when he goes forward he is destructive. Goals, what an attack. His technique is perfect. This is not a player you want to defend. He is in the team for his attacking play, but he ends up doing a lot of defensive work, which doesn’t look good for him. Ruben Amorim has to solve this problem. We need to get Lenny Yolo a little bit faster so he can play higher up the pitch.”
In his assessment, Amorim admitted that Amad “could do better” outside of scoring. He added: “We know that Amad is really dangerous one-on-one, so sometimes we expect one guy who hasn’t had a great game to be able to change the game. He managed to score, but again, we have the potential to have a better game.”
However, Amorim has made it clear that he will never change his 3-4-2-1 formation at Old Trafford. And that means that unless Mbeumo is injured, Amad will be given up starting games at wing-back rather than his natural role up front.
The Ivory Coast international has full faith in the Portuguese coach’s system and is willing to sacrifice himself. He said: “As a team, we are learning every day with the coach, Ruben, because we believe in his system. We are trying to understand the system and trying to perform our best every game.”
Regarding his partnership with Mbeumo, he added: “I think we have a good relationship, especially since he speaks French. We are trying to build that relationship not only on the pitch but also off the pitch. We are trying to do our best on the right flank.”
Clearly, Amad’s future under this manager lies at right wing-back. However, the system is not necessarily to blame, as changing the formation has no effect. You can’t start both on the right wing. And that’s where both players perform at their best.
Instead, Amorim will continue with its current system. That means United will have no choice but to accept a trade-off. There will be many more match-defining moments like his equalizer for Forest. There will also be more moments like Gibbs vs. White’s header.
