Manchester United's first two games of pre-season have already given a lot of talking points as youngsters have had a chance to mingle with senior players.
That is an opportunity that many have taken with both hands, like Toby Collyer, who is expected to receive first-team minutes this season.
Amad, who was on the fringes of the first-team team despite having senior experience, has also announced himself and figures to be a crucial part of the team this season.
If he can make the right wing his own, it will finally solve a problem position for United that has been stuck for the last decade with millions wasted on it.
Moreover, if recent activity is any indication, United might have a full partnership on the right developing, and not just offensively.
Amad hints at developing partnership
The effect a full-back can have on the game of a winger was laid bare last season when everyone starting on the left looked like a shadow of themselves in the absence of Luke Shaw.
The overlapping and underlapping runs help create overloads out wide, allowing the winger to diversify the threat and increase the possibility of linking up.
While the full-back was the problem on the left, a winger was the issue on the right as Diogo Dalot often seemed overworked in the absence of a critical threat ahead of him.
Amad can solve that issue and he has now hinted at a developing partnership with Habeeb Ogunneye with an Instagram post.
The Ivorian has posted a picture with Ogunneye in training on his Instagram stories with the caption "My G" with a heart emoji.
It is worth noting that Amad hasn't actually shared the field with him yet, as Aaron Wan-Bissaka started with him in his sole start of the pre-season so far.
However, Ogunneye has impressed greatly in pre-season, probably sealing his place on the plane to the USA, where he should get opportunities to develop his nascent partnership with Amad on the right.
An open competition
Ogunneye's closeness with Amad bodes well for his prospects, as Wan-Bissaka's future at the club is under a dark cloud.
His contract expires next season and he hasn't shown anything under Erik ten Hag to prove that he can be a consistent challenger to Dalot's spot.
Therefore, this summer is the one to make a ruthless decision on the player, especially as United need sales to fund their transfers.
In such a scenario, if Ogunneye can emerge as a genuine squad backup option at the very least, it will save United millions in the market.
They have been linked to Noussair Mazraoui of Bayern Munich so he will have plenty of experience to lean on his development as well.
Furthermore, Mazraoui has been fairly injury-prone in his Bayern tenure so the ideal situation for United would be to agree on a cut-price deal for him, sell Wan-Bissaka for the same price as they buy Mazraoui, and promote Ogunneye as the third-choice/backup option.
He will already be familiar with playing behind Amad, Mazraoui's minutes can then be managed easily due to Ogunneye's presence, and Dalot won't have to be worked into the ground and risk injuries long-term.
Comments