Amad on frustration under Ten Hag and belief from Amorim at Manchester United

'I can be one of the best in the world' - Amad on frustration under Ten Hag and belief from Amorim at Manchester United

In what has been a breakthrough season, Amad speaks about 'frustration' under Erik ten Hag, belief from Ruben Amorim at Man United and more.

Amad has been one of United's best players this season

Amad strides towards us with his hand outstretched. We shake hands and there is a spare chair behind him.

Does he want to sit down?

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“No, it’s okay.”

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Amad has stood up and been counted plenty of times for Manchester United in what is effectively his first full season. Had he not succumbed to injury in mid-February, the Sir Matt Busby player of the year statue might have had a new home away from the Fernandes residence.

We are speaking on the concourse of the Stretford End, doubling as a mixed zone on United’s Uefa media day for the Europa League final. It was at that end that Amad attained cult status with his Old Trafford winner for the ages against Liverpool in the FA Cup.

That still did not signal a turning point. The 22-year-old had to wait until the home defeat to Arsenal in May last year to start a meaningful match for the club he signed for in October 2020. Before then, Amad had been restricted to three starts in heavily-rotated teams under Ole Gunnar Solskjaer and Ralf Rangnick.

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Ruben Amorim is Amad’s fifth manager and the one who has maximised him. Ruud van Nistelrooy merits a special mention for his management of Amad during that four-game caretaker stint in the autumn.

The image of Van Nistelrooy avuncularly putting an arm around Amad’s shoulder on the touchline in Istanbul sticks out. Amad had watched Erik ten Hag put Antony on ahead of him against Fenerbahce.

“I need the game time to show I can play for this club,” he says. “In that moment, I was a little bit frustrated because you can understand sometimes maybe you deserve to play and you don't play. You have a little bit of frustration.

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“But I think now it's because the manager believes in me. He believes in my potential. I'm trying to repay his confidence every time I'm on the pitch.

“Honestly, Erik helped me a lot. He was giving me a lot of advice, even when I wasn't playing. He was telling me to train very hard every time. That's the most important thing when a manager keeps telling you to train hard, even if you don't play.

Ten Hag never completely trusted Amad

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“So I kept training very hard, very hard. I think this season, at the beginning, I was playing a lot with him. I want to thank him again for the opportunity he gave me and I want to wish him all the best.”

Amad was a one-man band in attack before he sustained an ankle injury in training in February. He was pressing Andre Onana and his left foot remained entrenched in the turf when he attempted to turn.

He reflects on the two-and-a-half-month lay-off positively. Amad required surgery and “kept praying to be back before the end of the season. So this happened and now I'm happy.

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Amad equalised at Anfield

“I'm always positive, I'm always smiling with everyone, so that's my natural thing. That's me, that's Amad, so I always try to grow up with positive things.”

His development at United was interrupted by significant injuries. A thigh strain prevented Amad from joining Feyenoord on loan in August 2021 and a knee injury sustained in the pre-season win against Arsenal in July 2023 kept him out for five months. Amad left the MetLife Stadium in New Jersey on a golf buggy clutching crutches.

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He returned to United that summer as a cult hero at Sunderland. On Tuesday, he was back at the Stadium of Light, where he was paraded during the interval of Sunderland’s Play-off tie with Coventry City.

Amad was back at Sunderland last week

United’s former football director John Murtough was convinced that Amad needed ten successive starts to demonstrate his qualities. During his first ten-match starting streak with Sunderland, he tallied six goals.

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“I believe in my potential,” Amad stresses. “I believe I can be one of the best in the world. I just have to give my best every game. That's it. But I think I believe in my potential."

Back in the United States with United in the summer, his stock was so much higher United chose him as the player to chair a press conference. Amad’s English has improved since then and he is not as shy.

His social media persona suggests he is more extroverted than his softly-spoken nature suggests. “UNITER WILL NEVER DIED,” he tweeted from the dressing room after the mother of all Old Trafford comebacks against Lyon. “Congrat manu (Ugarte) for your’re s**t goal, f**k Garna for that miss, you gaves us pain heart.”

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Amad with Ugarte and Garnacho after the Lyon comeback

Someone asked if it was Amad’s actual account. “No, Amorim account,” he dryly replied.

“I was so happy,” he laughs. “Honestly, I'm a good guy with everyone. I just posted that tweet on my X. That was funny, no?

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“We are really close. We are really close with Garna. Kobbie, Leny, everyone. I have good relationships with everyone. Like I said before, I have good energy, good vibes. Everyone likes to be with me.”

And it’s definitely him tweeting? “Yeah, it's me, it's me. Nobody (else), it's me. It's Amad!”

The Europa League final against Tottenham Hotspur will be Amad’s third. He was an unused substitute in penalty shootout defeats with United in 2021 and a year later on loan at Rangers.

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Amad in Gdansk for the 2021 final

Although his transfer to United was agreed on deadline day in October 2020, Amad arrived in Manchester in January 2021. He had a virtuoso stint in the Under 21s before Solskjaer gave him a handful of opportunities. He scored an adroit header on his third appearance against AC Milan.

During the unsuccessful shootout against Villarreal in Gdansk, Amad could be seen praying. “Yes, I already lost two. I hope to win this one. I keep praying for that one. It will be really good for me, but also for the team because at the end of the day, we want some things at the end of the season.

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“I was on the bench. I was young. I had no experience, but it was a good experience for me to be in my first Europa League final with the team. At the team, we had great players like (Paul) Pogba and (Edinson) Cavani. It was a dream for me, honestly.

Amad during his interview on Wednesday

“But now it's my moment. It's the moment for the club, it's the moment for the players, for everyone, for the fans because they deserve this moment. We will give everything, we will give our best to try and win this competition.”

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Amad has lined up on the wing and as the No.10 in his two starts since returning from injury. He seems likely to line up in the latter role in Bilbao.

“Honestly, I don't have a preference,” he insists. “I'm a player who likes to play, and I'm available for every position. So if the manager prefers to put me as a right wing back, I will be more happy to play there or Number 10. I have no preference. I just want to follow the manager and his system.

Amorim consoles Amad after the Chelsea defeat

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“The difference as right wing back (is), because you have to track back, you're a defender. You're more defender, and also you have to attack. Number 10 is more as a forward player. The difference is only this one, but I'm available for everything.”

He will be denied a reunion with his former Atalanta teammate and schoolmate, Dejan Kulusevski, who underwent surgery on his patella last week. “Tottenham, even without Kulusevski, they are a really good team,” Amad cautions. “So we are not here to think about Kulusevski. But Kulusevski is a good player.

“Kulusevski and Tottenham, they are really good. So I want to wish him good luck. But we are here to focus on what we can do.”

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Rather than be sat on the bench, Amad will be stood on the pitch for this final.

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