Coming in to the club with huge expectations. Will he live up to them? Signed ✍️Sealed 🤝Delivered 👋We are 𝙙𝙚𝙡𝙞𝙜𝙝𝙩𝙚𝙙 to confirm @AmadDiallo79's transfer to United has been finalised!#MUFC— Manchester United (@ManUtd) January 7, 2021 Things you love to 𝙝𝙚𝙖𝙧 😉@AmadDiallo79 can't wait for his United journey to begin!#MUFC pic.twitter.com/4RC1F9j3s2— Manchester United (@ManUtd) January 7, 2021
Bailly: “I am ready to help him [Diallo]. I’m ready to help every player. That, for me, is very important. When I came to this team, I had players with big experience. I remember [Wayne] Rooney, Ibra [Zlatan Ibrahimovic], Antonio Valencia.” #mulive [mu]— utdreport (@utdreport) January 8, 2021 Bailly when asked if Amad Diallo will be glad he’s on his team and not playing against him: “Ha, yes. He’s a top man. I speak with him and speak with the family. Now the guy is very happy to sign for Manchester United. Everybody waits for him and that’s it.” #mulive [mu]— utdreport (@utdreport) January 8, 2021 Amad will wear #19, previously worn by the likes of VdS, Welbz, Rashford and Yorke. Not a bad legacy.
Atalanta may not be the most storied club in Italy, but they have a good formula stretching back a few decades that has been paying big dividends in recent years. They have always looked to bold managers, like Prandelli, Lippi, and now Gasperini. They have produced top players like Scirea. Obviously they are excellent scouts because they assembled a team of mostly lower profile players who didn't necessarily look like the top prospects. Papu Gomez, for example, was playing in Ukraine when they signed him. During his time at Catania, he was good, but he never looked like he belonged at a top club in Italy. Ilicic was a mercurial player who showed flashes of arrogant skill while at clubs like Palermo, but he never had the consistency to deliver for a top club until he came under the management of Gasperini at Atalanta. This is a club that knows talent and how to develop players, even late bloomers, into top players. In saying that, I don't understand why Atalanta have let this kid go if he's really as good as they say. If other clubs in Italy were slow to get him, I think that's saying something. United have a hole to fill on the right flank and I feel they are signing a kid on the "cheap" hoping he'll come good. If he doesn't pan out, they didn't waste money like they did with Sanchez.
19mil Ps (which could rise up to 37 after add ons) is still a pretty sizeable sum for a teenager who still has limited first team experience at this stage. And the money on the table might have been the precise reason why Atalanta let him go. They're not one of Serie A's financial powerhouses after all. Obviously, that could turn into money very well spent in time the same way Ronaldo was: 12mil might not looked like a big sum but it still was a hefty investment on a fairly unproven teenager at the time. The expectations on him will be fairly high but it's also important they are managed pretty carefully nonetheless. And as was the case with CRon, we will need to be patient and the club needs to properly look after his development. Doing that will provide him the opportunity at least to realize his potential. Personally, do not expect much from him in terms of the first team this season: let him acclimate fully to the team, the country and English football in the U23s for now.
With his first ever shot fans will expect 100 goals to come from it. The kid is in so much trouble and he doesn't know it
Hope he pans out and our scouts have done their due diligence on his potential, his fit and his attitude - especially given the fee. Suspect he will be given the same fitness/gym conditioning program that Mason did during lockdown that seemed to help him significantly deal with adult EPL level defenders given age and physique.
Amad Diallo: Why Man Utd signing bears comparison with Cristiano Ronaldo transfer - BBC Sport If he ends having just half the impact/talent CRon had, we'll still have a nice player on our hands.
So sick of every young player being comp'd to Ronaldo or Messi. They are Ronaldo and Messi for a reason. The top 1% of the top 1%. This kid looks like a decent prospect, but certainly not a "cant miss" talent by all accounts. When Ronaldo and Messi were this kids age, they were seen as arguably the best young talents at the time. Diallo is relatively unknown. These journalists need to learn some variety.
I am not 100% sure this statement is true with regards to Cristiano. The narrative was that he was a player that was signed after shredding United in a pre-season friendly. He was not rumored to be on United’s radar, was mocked for not being the real Ronaldo (after a summer of chasing Ronaldinho) and it wasn’t really until his debut v Bolton that anything was put on his name. Even after that, it was years for him to shed the moniker of soft and one-trick pony and he was compared unfavorably to Rooney, his teammate. Even the majority of United supporters here wanted Ronaldo gone after the World Cup. They didn’t think he was worth it.
Not true. Ronaldo was highly regarded as one of the brightest prospect around. It wasn't until we played them that the players and managers were all saying we have to get this kid. But he was well known.
Rooney was the same age bracket as Ronaldo and rated higher at the age of 16 to 18. I think Ronny was seen as an incredibly exciting prospect, but I don't think the clear cut #1 prospect at age 16. Personally, circa 2004, I think Rooney, Robben, Robihno, Reyes, Iniesta, and Torres were all rated more highly. All of the same age bracket.
I don't disagree, but I never said Ronaldo was the #1 can't miss prospect. That doesn't really ever exist. But he was in the top tier. Diallo isn't in that group.
Nothing new though, back in the day it was always who's the next George Best. I remember when Giggs came on the scene they were all saying he's the new Best.
Cristiano at the time he signed for United was a top prospect, that much I do think so, but none more so than Quaresma, Gronkjaer, Robben, etc. Before he signed for United, Quaresma was seen as the better of the two at Sporting. He became something completely different from these players. Like Henry, he went from being a winger to a target man. No one really saw him as the new Ronaldo, which is what Cristiano became. If Diallo turns out to be as good as a prospect as Saka or Sancho, he'll prove himself to be good purchase. Players like Cristiano are almost incomparable. I don't think it's reasonable to use him as a measuring stick for other players.