When you're fast-tracked into senior football, compared to Lionel Messi by your captain and command a £37million fee all before your 19th birthday it's fair to say you've set the bar high.
And now Amad is beginning to turn promise and potential into consistency and quality as he seeks to achieve his Manchester United aim.
The winger has enjoyed a breakout season on loan in the Championship with Sunderland. He's starred in their run to the play-offs, with the Black Cats facing Luton Town in the semi-finals this weekend. Under the guidance of the experienced Tony Mowbray, Amad has developed as the season has progressed. Early in the campaign he dropped down to the Under-21s as the manager and his coaching staff sought to round off his rough edges.
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In the second half of the campaign he's been almost unstoppable and is generating a buzz around Old Trafford ahead of his summer return to his parent club.
"A wonderful talent," was Mowbray's verdict. "He’s quite a shy kid who never puts himself really forward, he never peeps up and says why didn’t you do this, why aren’t I getting the ball here, I should be getting it more. I just tell the team really to try to get it to Amad."
It's not been a bad strategy for Sunderland and the starlet will now hope to fulfil his Old Trafford ambition, three years on from first arriving in Manchester.
"I haven’t shown my best for them yet," admitted the teenager earlier this sesaon in an interview with Four Four Two. "But I hope next season I can return and prove my talent. My dream is to play regular football at Manchester United.”
He will certainly have given Erik ten Hag food for thought and while the player's on-pitch talent is obvious, his off-pitch journey since arriving in England merits some attention. It's not been plain sailing for the youngster.
He's only made three starts for United and last season joined Scottish giants Rangers on loan. He didn't make the impact some expected at Ibrox, limited to 13 appearances in total and only four league starts. It was a tough school for the teenager under the tutalege of manager Giovanni Van Bronckhorst.
"I think he has talent," the Dutchman said. "He came in in the winter break, he had some good moments but also some moments that were not so good. But he kept training hard."
It's a sentence that could be applied to most young players up and down the country, but Diallo's work ethic has never been in question. He's continued to strive to be the best and, while his time in Glasgow could hardly be considered a success, the learnings north of the border stood him in good stead when he joined Sunderland last summer.
Working under Mowbray, who has a reputation for helping youngsters to thrive, he rounded his game and went from a player seeking pefection, flicks and tricks to one honed on end product. Thirteen goals is a testament to that. A Wembley final and a promotion campaign would cap a superb season for the Ivory Coast international, and place him in contention for a spot in United's first-team squad.
He may well have to make do with another loan but he's now passed 50 senior appearances and will turn 21 in July. He's come a long way from the raw diamond with untapped potential that first burst onto the scene in Italy.
Having moved to Europe from the Ivory Coast as a child, his showings for local amateur club Boca Barco led to a scramble for his signature. Juventus, AC Milan and Inter Milan were all keen but the then 13-year-old opted for Atalanta.
Within three years he was in the senior squad and his early showings in training prompted captain Papu Gomez to draw Lionel Messi comparisons.
"There are defenders in the first team that sometimes cannot stop him," said Gomez. "To stop him in training, we have to kick him! He plays like Messi."
A goal six minutes into his Serie A debut alerted the world's best clubs and three games into his senior career in Bergamo, a deal was struck with United for an initial £19million move. Add-ons could almost double the outlay.
He joined a dressing room packed with big names and struck up a friendship with Paul Pogba and Bruno Fernandes. Anthony Elanga is another he is close with.
"I was looking around thinking, ‘Wow, I can’t believe I’m here’" Amad initially said.
A debut came against Real Sociedad in the Europa League in February 2021 and a first goal followed a few weeks later. International honours for the Ivory Coast rounded off a successful season with then-United boss Ole Gunnar Solskjaer pleased with his progress.
"Amad Diallo is creative, he plays with freedom," said the Norwegian in March 2021. "He still has loads to learn."
Now, just over two years on, it seems lessons have been learnt. Over to you Erik.
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