Corry Evans: This is what Tony Mowbray 'used to say' to get best out of Amad Diallo at Sunderland

Former Sunderland midfielder Corry Evans has opened up on Amad Diallo’s time at the club, claiming that ex-Black Cats’ boss Tony Mowbray would implore his players to give the Ivorian the ball whenever possible.

The Manchester United winger spent a highly successful loan stint at the Stadium of Light during the 2022/23 campaign, scoring 14 goals and assisting four more across 42 outings in all competitions. Sunderland would go on to make the Championship play-offs that season, and Evans - who was part of Mowbray’s squad at the time - has suggested that the head coach had a fairly straightforward approach when it came to getting the best out of Amad.

Speaking to the Manchester Evening News, the Northern Irishman said: “I think he [Amad] was lucky in the sense that we had Tony Mowbray, who was really entrusting with young players. Tony has done it loads of times throughout his career… He just trusts the players, no matter what age they are, and I think that’s why young players really develop under him.

“Tony just trusts them and says, ‘Listen, they’re talented, just give them the ball’. That’s what he used to say about Amad. He would say, ‘Give it to the good players. I’m not saying in a disrespectful way to you, but just give it to the good players because they’ll make the best decisions.’

“And then he would say something like, ‘Back when I was a player at Middlesbrough and Ipswich, I would give it to the best players and we would win games’. So it was always drilled in to feed him basically, give him the ball, because they’re the players who can change games.”

Evans also discussed Amad’s unassuming nature, as well as the ways in which he caught several of his teammates on Wearside off guard during his early training sessions. He added: “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.

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“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.”

Last month, Amad put pen to paper on a new deal with Manchester United which is scheduled to run until the summer of 2030. Speaking at the time, he said: “I am really proud to have signed this new contract. I have had some incredible moments with this club already but there is so much more to come. I have huge ambitions in the game and I want to achieve history at Manchester United.”

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