Erik ten Hag is open to bringing Amad into the first-team picture next term after his impressive season with Sunderland.
The Ivorian, who has struggled for opportunities at Manchester United, has spent the season in the Championship, where he's excelled at the Stadium of Light, leaving Ten Hag with a decision to make in the summer. He already has a host of attacking options at his disposal.
United are also poised to target a new No 9 this summer with Harry Kane among the names on their shortlist. That could further hamper Amad's playing time and Ten Hag is aware that, if he brings the player back, he would need minutes to continue his development.
He said: "We consider everything but I have a little bit of reservation about [recalling Amad] because I don’t want to stop the process. He has made really good progress there so I’m happy with that. But young players need experiences and when we decide for him to come back, he has to be a player who can compete for the starting XI or minimum to come on for a lot of games and make an impact."
Amad was previously signed for big money from Atalanta when he was just a teenager. Despite his potential there was a lack of opportunity for the Ivorian, who has only played a hand full of games and and managed to score just once - against AC Milan in the Europa League.
Black Cats boss Tony Mowbray has been able to see Amad up close throughout the season with the north east outfit pushing for the play-offs. He has touted the possibility of the Ivorian moved to Spain for huge sums if United do not want to integrate him into the first-team.
He said: “I have a good feeling for Amad that if he’s not back at United he will go for big, big money to a top Spanish team. He loves football and wants to play so what do you do if you are at Manchester United? Are you happy just to be a Manchester United player and play six sub appearances and two starts over a season of 60 games for them? Or do you want to go out and play?
“So are they going to sell him? If they do they will want to recoup their money which was reputedly 40 euros or whatever it was. I would suggest they would try him at another level and he’d go (on loan) to the Premier League, or go back to Italy or Seria A or Spain. But let’s hope he is playing at Sunderland and banging in goals. There is a better chance if we are in the Premier League, he is playing against Premier League teams.”
Amad though has underlined his desire to make it at Old Trafford, telling FourFourTwo : “I was so happy to sign for Manchester United: it’s a club with a massive history, famous all around the world. I haven’t shown my best for them yet, but I hope next season I can return and prove my talent. My dream is to play regular football at Manchester United."
