Manchester United have already secured the signings of Wout Weghorst and Jack Butland on loan deals until the end of the season, however, Erik ten Hag will still be eyeing up another player or two to give his side that extra bit of strength in depth.
With the Dutchman clearly looking ahead to the future, any permanent signings could well be of the youthful variety and combining them with the club's talented youngsters such as Alejandro Garnacho and Anthony Elanga could be a recipe for success.
Another youngster who is shining this season – albeit not at United – is Amad Diallo, with the winger flourishing on loan at Sunderland. If he keeps up his impressive form, he may well force himself into the first-team squad ahead of next term.
Diallo joined the Old Trafford side in January 2021 from Atalanta for a fee that could rise to £37.2m and Ole Gunnar Solskjaer claimed: “he is one of the most exciting prospects in the game” following the move.
His first year at the club was perhaps tougher than he expected, featuring just nine times for the senior side, scoring once and he was loaned out to Glasgow Rangers for the second half of last season, having mixed success. He did play 13 times but lacked the required physicality to truly shine in Scotland, although he did secure a Scottish Cup winners medal.
Another loan spell, this time to Sunderland, enabled him to showcase his abilities fully. The 20-year-old has netted six goals in 20 appearances and has become a real crowd-pleaser according to Pete O’Rourke, who discussed the player when speaking to Football FanCast:
“Yeah, Diallo obviously was a lot of fanfare when Manchester United signed him for Atalanta for such a huge fee at such a young age and he hasn’t impressed when he did play for Manchester United but he’s gone along to Sunderland this season.
“He’s really taken that opportunity for regular first-team football, scored goals, created goals and I know he’s a big fan favourite with the Sunderland faithful as well.”
Ten Hag can unearth his own Riyad Mahrez
Fellow United teammates Harry Maguire and Luke Shaw even believe that the club have their own answer to Manchester City star Mahrez with the young winger and Shaw discussed the comparison while speaking to Sky Sports (via TEAMtalk), saying:
“He’s a wonderful talent and already a wonderful player so I’m sure fans are looking forward to seeing him on the pitch.
“It was interesting because Harry said to me the other day that he reminds him of Mahrez when he was at Leicester.
“Really quick, skilful, agility, can turn really quick, got great skills and I would agree with Harry – he does remind me of Mahrez.”
The Algerian has scored 81 Premier League goals in his career and WhoScored also suggests that Mahrez and Diallo both excel at finishing and passing, while they also like to cut inside from the wing.
Ten Hag will be keen to see how his development continues in the Championship, but he could well have another excellent youngster ready to take the league by storm next year.