£19m star Amad spotted watching Sunderland 2-0 Oxford United amid Man Utd contract uncertainty
The Manchester United man watched Sunderland’s win against Oxford United in the Championship on Saturday
Amad Diallo was spotted watching Sunderland’s win against Oxford United from home amid uncertainty surrounding his future at Manchester United.
Amad, 22, signed a contract until June 2025 when he joined Manchester United in 2021 for £19million in a deal that could be worth up to an additional £18.2million if certain criteria are met. The deal also includes an option to extend for another year.
During his time with Manchester United, Amad has spent time on loan with Sunderland and Rangers after failing to nail down a first-team position at Old Trafford. The attacking midfielder has since returned to Manchester United and has shown flashes of extreme quality, helping the Red Devils win the FA Cup last season with a late winner against rivals Liverpool in the quarter-final.
However, manager Erik ten Hag snubbed Amad during United’s last match against Fenerbahce in the Europa League. The clash was tied at 1-1 when Ten Hag turned to Antony instead of Amad, who had a face like thunder when brought on later with just a minute to go.
Indeed, on Saturday, Amad was spotted on Instagram watching Sunderland’s 2-0 win at home to Oxford United at the Stadium of Light, which sent the Black Cats five points clear at the top of the Championship with 12 games played of the 2024-25 season.
After the game, ten Hag said: "Amad, he is doing well," Ten Hag said after the draw. "But I must also reward the performances of Antony in training. He is a threat almost every training session, so I felt in that moment the right thing to do was bring him on to decide the game."
With Amad’s contract running down, it is unclear whether Manchester United will exercise their option to extend the deal for another year and the former Sunderland loanee’s future remains up in the air with the club in a state of flux under new co-owners INEOS. Amad was also left out of the starting XI to face West Ham on Sunday afternoon.
Sunderland enquired about re-signing the player on loan last summer, and in January, but were told he wasn’t available. Amad then finished last season in good form, scoring the aforementioned dramatic winner against Liverpool in the FA Cup, before featuring regularly in the Premier League.