Former Manchester United star Lee Sharpe says Amad Diallo is ‘suffering’ under Ruben Amorim and has been ‘thrown off his rhythm’ by switching positions this season.
Diallo was arguably United’s standout performer in the first half of last season, but an ankle injury in February hampered the forward’s progress and he has failed to hit the same heights this term.
While playing on the wing, at wing-back and as a No.10 in recent weeks, Diallo is yet to register a goal or assist in any of his six opening appearances of the campaign in all competitions.
The 23-year-old will be desperate to make his mark this weekend when the Red Devils return to Premier League action away to struggling Brentford.
In United’s last two games, Diallo has started in behind Benjamin Sesko with Bryan Mbeumo and Amorim will no doubt be tempted to opt for the same attack after his side’s impressive win over Chelsea.
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But ex-United winger Sharpe is adamant Diallo is most effective on the right flank and feels Amorim is not doing the Ivory Coast ‘any favours’ by deploying him elsewhere.
‘When you’re a winger playing wing-back, having to defend from your corner flag, it takes a little bit out of you to go and do it at the other end as well,’ Sharpe told AceOdds.com.
‘He was our best player going forward for early parts of our last season but then he had that injury.
‘I don’t think it’s great for someone like him to play No. 10, then wing-back, then somewhere else. It throws you off your rhythm a little bit.
‘He’s a wide player, so it’s very difficult to tuck in as a No. 10. It’s not doing him any favours. He’s definitely suffered under Amorim’s formation.’
According to Sharpe, Diallo’s true potential is wasted at wing-back and the Ivorian should be given the freedom to terrorise opposition defenders in the final third.
‘His work-rate is phenomenal. That’s not a problem,’ Sharpe added.
‘I think his best place is the final third, going past people, driving at them.
‘I think playing him as a wing-back, he doesn’t get to do as often as he should do.’
Sharpe has been encouraged by Casemiro’s performances in recent months and believes the veteran Brazilian is better suited to partnering Kobbie Mainoo than Manuel Ugarte in United’s engine room.
‘I think Casemiro improved a lot at the end of last season. He got fitter or changed something didn’t he? He looked a different player to the end of last season to what he did at the start,’ Sharpe went on.
‘He’s still a top-class player. He sees things early, breaks things up really well. I think he would be a good player to play alongside Kobbie, but I do think they need someone else in there to help him.
‘Whether it’s a centre-half who has to come in, or a full-back who comes in or one of the No.10s that drops in.
‘I think Casemiro and Kobbie would be a good pairing but you can’t play a two against three or like City who played a tight four. They just get outnumbered and bypassed so easily.
‘I think Casemiro is the holding player who will allow Kobbie to advance and do more in the final third. It would be a great pairing. It’s just where you fit in Bruno Fernandes in all of that. I would probably pick Casemiro over Ugarte.’
United scoured the market for a combative central midfielder towards the end of the summer transfer window and Brighton’s Carlos Baleba came to the fore as a potential solution at the Theatre of Dreams.
But with Brighton demanding an eye-watering fee of £100million for Baleba, United were forced to drop their interest in the Cameroon international.
‘I think the price was just too high. He would be a great signing for the club,’ Sharpe said of Baleba.
‘He’s got legs and energy. He can take the ball in midfield, look after it well and can carry it from defence to attack. He would have been an ideal player for Manchester United and him and Kobbie Mainoo in midfield would have been ideal.
‘I wonder if the talk and links to Manchester United has thrown his season off or distracted him.
‘I was speaking to someone from Brighton recently and they were saying they want to keep him for another year because they think he can be worth more at the end of this season so they were in no rush to sell him.’
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