Sunderland dreaming of late swoop for Man Utd star; enquiry confirmed as Ten Hag weighs up his options

Sunderland are dreaming of re-signing Manchester United winger Amad Diallo on loan but are well aware that agreeing a deal is a long shot. 

Erik ten Hag is keen to keep hold of the 21-year-old so he can provide competition for Marcus Rashford, Alejandro Garnacho and Antony for the rest of the season.

This is especially important after Man Utd decided to send Facundo Pellistri out on loan to Granada.

Antony is also being linked with an exit, with Sir Jim Ratcliffe willing to sell the Dutchman for a cut-price fee of £50m this month.

Diallo has been sidelined with a knee injury for much of this season, making his first appearance of the campaign in a 2-1 defeat to Nottingham Forest last month.

While Ten Hag is keen to keep hold of him, some recent reports have suggested that the manager could ‘ease his position’ on Diallo in the final days of the window.

This gives Sunderland a slight glimmer of hope in their efforts to re-sign the talented winger on loan.

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Sunderland contact with Man Utd confirmed over re-signing Diallo

Sunderland sporting director Kristjaan Speakman admitted in a recent interview that the Black Cats would be ‘lucky’ to get their hands on Diallo again.

“The situation with Amad is really clear,” Speakman told the Northern Echo. “We’ve got a really positive relationship with the boy and his people. We’ve got a really positive relationship with Manchester United.

“I think everyone was really delighted on all sides with what happened last season.

“Do we think he’s a player that could come and improve our team? Yes. Have we enquired about him? Yes. Have we kept in contact? Of course.

“If we hadn’t kept in contact about him, my head might be on a stake at the beach!”

Diallo scored an impressive 13 goals in 37 Championship appearances for Sunderland last season – helping them secure a spot in the playoffs.

“That’s where it’s at,” Speakman added.  “If that picture changes in any shape or form, then we’ll be on it and we’ll understand where it sits.

“That doesn’t mean that, even if he became available, we would get him. As I’ve said on numerous occasions, I think he’s a tier-one player. So he’s probably going to be playing in one of the top leagues somewhere.

“He’s a tier-one player. I think we’d be lucky if we got him on loan again because of the level he can play at. I know he enjoyed (his time at Sunderland), and that’s great.

“How fantastic that we had a top player came to Sunderland and thoroughly enjoyed his time with supporters, staff and team-mates.”

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