Man Utd winger Amad ended last season strongly and hit the ground running with his first appearance in pre-season.
Rangers fans would be forgiven for not recognising Amad in the flesh last weekend.
Amad spent the second half of the 2021/22 season on loan with Rangers, but he failed to make an impression at Ibrox Stadium and quietly departed through the back door.
The winger who started against Rangers in a friendly for Manchester United at Murrayfield on Saturday looked like an entirely different player and, just in case their supporters had indeed forgotten who he was, Amad opened the scoring by cutting inside and finding the corner.
Amad produced the only genuine moment of attacking quality in the first half and did brilliantly to create a yard of space before lashing the ball beyond goalkeeper Jack Butland.
Amad was the standout performer for United in the opening 45 minutes – wholesale changes were made at the interval – and had a wide smile, which is now becoming his trademark, when scurrying through the bodies in the corridors of Murrayfield to get on the team bus.
Erik ten Hag was speaking to five Manchester-based reporters when Amad walked past and Jadon Sancho was another to brush past while the United manager was speaking.
Ten Hag had been critical of United after the opening pre-season friendly, but he was content with the victory over Rangers and pleased with Amad’s strong performance.
“As you say, he made a very good progression last season,” said Ten Hag about Amad. “The past two seasons he was on loan [with Rangers and Sunderland]. and then he was planned to play a role but he had a very bad injury in pre-season that dropped him a little bit back. But in the last games of the season, he showed his assets. Today, this season has to become his season.”
Ten Hag was asked whether he sees Amad playing regularly on the right, his preferred position, and replied: “I think that’s his best position, but he’s capable of playing a lot of positions like the nine, the 10 or from the left wing. He can play all the offensive positions.”
Amad might be versatile, but he’s most effective when playing on the right and might stake a claim to start in that role when the Premier League season begins on August 16.
The 22-year-old ended last term with a flourish, starting the last three league games, and many believed he was unfortunate to start on the bench in the FA Cup final given his form.
Although a summer break can disrupt a player’s momentum, Amad picked up where he left off and there’s a feeling that 2024/25 could be his coming-of-age season.
If that proves to be true, Amad will force his way into the starting team and Alejandro Garnacho might be relocated to his favoured position on the left. Garnacho played on the right for the first time against Aston Villa on December 26 and excelled there for the remainder of the season.
Garnacho was brilliant, he scored in the FA Cup final and doesn’t deserve to be dropped, so on form, Amad and Garnacho might be the picks to start with Rasmus Hojlund.
That would mean Marcus Rashford would be named on the bench. It still feels like the possibility of Amad and Garnacho starting, with Rashford on the bench, is some way off, but there is an opportunity in the next few weeks of pre-season to sway Ten Hag into a decision.
Rashford wasn’t good enough last season, however, Ten Hag is aware of what he’s capable of when he’s firing and has challenged the forward to return to his best. Whether Rashford can achieve that in the new campaign remains to be seen and Amad could benefit if his slump continues.
United believed they were signing a future star when signing Amad for £19million rising to £37m – a large transfer fee for an 18-year-old who had only played nine times – from Atalanta in 2020 and, a few years after his arrival, he’s finally striving to reach his potential at the club.
Amad has taken time to break into the first team and stay there, but the transfer fee he commanded might be considered value at the end of this season if everything goes to plan.
Garnacho was signed for just under £500,000 from Atletico Madrid when he was just a teenager in the summer of 2020 and there’s no doubt that fee was a bargain.
Both players could start on the wings next season if everything goes their way.
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