Manchester United winger Amad Diallo is not expected to join Championship club Birmingham City on loan this month, but is still likely to leave Old Trafford to further his experience of first-team football.
According to Fabrizio Romano, four clubs remain in negotiations with Manchester United over Amad, including Dutch Eredivisie side Feyenoord, who have a long-standing interest in the player. However, the player’s preference is to remain in the United Kingdom if he does leave the Red Devils on loan.
Amad Diallo: Manchester United Winger’s Loan Transfer to Birmingham Expected to Collapse
Deal Not Close in Spite of Further Talks
On the face of it, a loan transfer to take Amad from Manchester United to Birmingham looks to make sense for all parties involved. The 19-year-old is not near the front of the queue in a packed attacking line-up at Old Trafford, and could be afforded regular first-team football by Lee Bowyer’s side.
Additionally, Amad could provide the kind of spark required to take Birmingham higher than their 18th-placed position in the Championship table. The Ivory Coast international is highly-regarded at Manchester United, and scored his first goal for the Old Trafford club in eye-catching fashion during a Europa League last-16 tie against AC Milan last season.
To date, Amad has made 9 first-team appearances for the Manchester United, having arrived at the club from Serie A side Atalanta in January 2021.
Ralf Ragnick Not Expecting January Arrivals at Old Trafford
Manchester United’s interim manager Ralf Ragnick has been repeatedly asked in press conferences whether he is planning on making any signings in the current transfer window to help the club improve on their underwhelming seventh-placed league position.
However, Ragnick, who replaced Ole Gunnar Solskjaer in the Old Trafford dugout in November, says his remit is to work with the players he has at his disposal already. The German feels that his first-team squad is already big enough, to the extent that several fringe players are unhappy with their lack of game time.
Addressing the issues in his squad, Ragnick said: “We have a big squad. If you have that many players and only 10 outfield players can play, and three being substitutes, then you have quite a number of players who don’t play or are not even in the squad. Those players are unhappy about the situation. It’s obvious. It’s clear.
“We also have players with contracts expiring in the summer and maybe also one or two who want to leave even though they are under contract.
“It’s about the players dealing with that situation in a professional way. As far as I can tell so far the players have been doing that. If I realise this is not the case, I will address the players directly.”
Manchester United are next in action against Aston Villa in the FA Cup on Monday 10 January.
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