Manchester United fans are puzzled as Amad Diallo has mysteriously deleted all club-related posts on his social media accounts.
Amad, 21, has wiped the Red Devils from his X and Instagram accounts. He's updated his X account with a new profile picture and banner which are pictures of him during his loan spell at Sunderland.
The Ivorian winger has lacked game time under Erik ten Hag this season, with just three appearances to his name. He was sidelined with a long-term knee injury he picked up during Manchester United's pre-season but returned in December.
Amad enjoyed a stellar season on loan at Sunderland in the EFL Championship last season. He registered 14 goals and four assists in 42 games across competitions for the Black Cats.
Reports claim that Amad could return to the second tier of English football in the summer. Birmingham City and Watford are interested in the former Atlanta teenager who played under Blues boss Tony Mowbray at the Stadium of Light.
Ten Hag affirmed that Manchester United would need Amad as they entered the latter stages of the season. The Dutchman said (via the club's official website):
"Amad looks very sharp. I think it was a good sub [performance vs Nottingham Forest in the FA Cup] from him. I think that's good for the future. We need them [Amad and Omari Forson] because we have our problems in the frontline."
However, Amad hasn't appeared for the Red Devils since that game. His last post on X is of him and Alejandro Garnacho ranking footballers using a TikTok segment.
Fans ponder whether Amad is following in Jadon Sancho's footsteps. The English winger similarly blacked out his social media before falling out with Ten Hag over his training performance.
Sancho left Old Trafford for Borussia Dortmund on loan in January and one fan wonders whether this is a similar scenario:
"Jadon Sancho 2.0 loading."
Here's how fans on X (formerly Twitter) reacted to the Ivory Coast international's social media move:
Former Manchester United boss Ole Gunnar Solskjaer was excited to work with Amad Diallo
Amad arrived at Manchester United from Serie A side Atalanta in January 2021 for a reported £37 million. The young winger joined the club while Ole Gunnar Solskjaer was in charge.
The Ivorian's former Atalanta teammate Alejandro Gomez once compared Amad to eight-time Ballon d'Or winner Lionel Messi:
"He’s [Amad Diallo] a future star, trust me. During our training, he seems like [Lionel] Messi! You can’t stop him."
Thus, expectations were high when Amad joined Solskjaer's Red Devils and the Norweigan coach was looking forward to coaching him. The iconic former striker told the club's website in January 2021:
"I’m very excited about bringing him in. I think he’s shown a few times his qualities. Of course he has to learn to play in England, that’s a different level of football. We’ll give him time to develop and to express himself."
Solskjaer was sacked by Manchester United in November that year. Amad only appeared eight times under the Red Devils legend but scored a memorable equalizer in a 1-1 draw with AC Milan in the UEFA Europa League last 16.