Welcome to The Radar, a Sky Sports column in which Nick Wright uses a blend of data and opinion to shed light on need-to-know stories from up and down the Premier League. This week:
🔴 Amad: Lower profile but higher value?
🚜 Delap’s difference-making finishing
💨 Jones’ eye-catching top speed
Amad can shine under Amorim
Ruben Amorim’s tactical approach has been pored over ahead of his opening game in charge of Manchester United, but when asked to define his philosophy in his first interview as their head coach, he preferred to highlight the overarching importance of other factors.
“The team is the most important thing for me,” he said. “If you work as a team, then the talent individually is going to shine.” Amorim also used the word “character” repeatedly. He went on to reference “the way we fight” and even specified the need for “running back”.
His comments were a clue as to which players may or may not be most valuable to him, particularly in attack, where the 39-year-old inherits a clutch of wide forwards vying for what might be a solitary spot in the team, assuming Bruno Fernandes occupies the other.
Alejandro Garnacho and Marcus Rashford were of course Erik ten Hag’s preferred wide options. They are game-changing talents at their best. But then so is Amad Diallo. Crucially, he is also a team player predisposed to the game’s grittier requirements.
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The comparison in their off-the-ball work is stark. Amad presses with greater intensity than Garnacho or Rashford. Premier League tracking data shows he covers considerably more ground. He is also a far more prolific tackler, his average of three per 90 minutes putting him second among Premier League forwards this season.
“The second goal had everything in it that for me is Amad Diallo,” said interim boss Ruud van Nistelrooy after he starred in the win over PAOK. “He fought to take the ball off the defender, pushed through to get the shot and had the quality to curl it round the goalkeeper.”
Amad’s double in that game took him to five in all competitions for Manchester United. Although his playing opportunities have been relatively limited across the last two seasons, the rate at which he has produced goals or assists puts him second only to Fernandes.
His quality as a provider as well as a scorer – Amad creates at twice the rate of Garnacho or Rashford – should add to his appeal to Amorim, whose inside forwards at Sporting, Trincao and Pedro Goncalves, were the main sources of creativity in his team.
That pair blossomed under Amorim, a coach with a reputation for moulding stars, and Amad is a similarly malleable young talent. His attitude and work ethic – “He is constantly focused on learning and getting better,” added van Nistelrooy after the PAOK game – might even make him an option at wing-back.
