Manchester United are open to discussing where the future of Amad Diallo may lie over the summer upon his return from his loan spell at Sunderland.
What's the latest with Amad Diallo?
The Ivorian has spent the 2022/23 campaign out on loan with Tony Mowbray's Black Cats in the Championship and he has certainly impressed.
It has been a transfer which has benefited all parties with Sunderland utilising one of United's exciting youngsters with 32 league appearances already under his belt (via Transfermarkt).
Sunderland fans have been able to witness some moments of genius from the Ivorian who has now been nominated for the Championship's Young Player of the Season award.
With the end of the campaign approaching, Diallo has spoken openly about his future and his desire to return to Old Trafford and play a part:
“I haven’t shown my best for Manchester United yet… but I hope next season I can return and prove my talent," he said.
But speaking on his YouTube channel, Fabrizio Romano has suggested it may not be as straightforward as just returning to United and merging into Erik ten Hag's team:
(3:10) "They're very happy with him at Sunderland, but also I'm told internally that Manchester United they think that the choice to keep the player at Sunderland on loan in January not to recall him.
"Because this was considered as a possibility in January, at the beginning of January for Manchester United. But then at the end together with the Erik ten Hag, they decided that the best choice was to let Amad play all the games, be an important player for Sunderland, and then have him back for the pre-season.
"In the summer, the idea of Manchester United is to decide with Diallo about the future. If the best option for him is to stay at Manchester United at least for the first part of the season, for the pre-season and then to see what's the best way to decide the future or if a loan again could be a possibility."
Should United keep Diallo?
The Ivorian is still just 20 years old so there is certainly a huge amount of potential for Diallo to become a success at Old Trafford.
However, the concerns have to lie surrounding whether he could return to United and earn himself enough game time to continue his development.
And this could prove a major issue for Diallo who has the likes of Antony ahead of him in the pecking order.
Granted, there may be question marks as to whether Antony has been a good signing for United thus far, but nonetheless, the Brazilian is still a big-money signing who United will hope can come good for them.
Even the likes of Alejandro Garnacho could provide fierce competition for Diallo in the United squad with the Argentine beginning to pick up game time under Ten Hag (via Transfermarkt).
With this in mind, perhaps a loan move to another Premier League side could be a sensible option for Diallo to continue his development if he isn't in the immediate plans at Old Trafford.
Sunderland reporter Nick Barnes hailed Diallo as a "magician" and it is to little surprise when the Ivorian is providing almost five take ons per 90 minutes for the Black Cats (via FBref).
A big few months lie ahead of the youngster and perhaps a late promotion charge from Sunderland could provide an easy solution for next season if they are able to make their return to the top flight.