Rangers' Amad Diallo is one of football's 'most exciting prospects' and could be a game-changing transfer

The 19-year-old Ivorian becomes Giovanni van Bronckhorst’s second signing this month and goes straight into the first-team picture with a busy fixture schedule to follow over the upcoming weeks.

Arriving just a day on from Wednesday’s turgid showing against Livingston, Amad's addition will boost the Ibrox fanbase who have been unanimous in their calls for squad additions.

Who is Amad Diallo?

Having moved to Italy as a child, Amad joined Atalanta in 2015. His talent convinced United to spend an initial £19 million, with a further £18.2m in add-ons, following a handful of appearances for the Serie A outfit.

Since moving to Old Trafford nine first-team appearances have followed. The attacker was not expected to contribute regularly to the United first-team in the immediate term, however, according to their manager at the time.

"Having watched him myself, I believe he is one of the most exciting young prospects in the game," said Ole Gunnar Solskjaer when United signed the then 18-year-old in January of last year.

"It will take time for him to adapt but his speed, vision and fantastic dribbling ability will stand him in good stead to make the transition.

"He is a player with all of the raw attributes that are needed to be an important player for Manchester United in the years to come."

Although some would regard Amad's youth football exerts as null and void, his performances at that level were enough to earn a significant transfer to one of the world's biggest clubs. Just as Nathan Patterson only played 25 times for Rangers before Everton shelled out £16m on the right-back, Amad's price tag was dictated by his potential, performances at youth level and undisputed quality.

READ MORE: Rangers' win over Livingston stated the obvious: Giovanni van Bronckhorst needs transfer additions - Stevie Clifford

Why does the transfer make sense?

Since arriving in Scotland, van Bronckhorst's move away from the narrow No.10s Steven Gerrard favoured has refreshed an attacking unit that appeared stale in the early months of this season.

“I would say the biggest change since I came in is that we have started playing with out-and-out wingers - we have the players with those qualities to do that,” he told Dutch show Rondo at the end of last year.

While on the left Ryan Kent has been able to showcase his best talents from wide zones, and Fashion Sakala has impressed in flashes, the right-wing has offered little in the way of consistency. Ianis Hagi, now out for the season, looked unnatural isolated in high areas and although Scott Wright has impacted games from the bench, his lack of end product continues to rule out a regular starting spot.

Amad is at Ibrox to play games and Rangers need a right-sided attacker, which signifies a transfer that works for all parties. He is a player that will be expected to impact proceedings quickly and help ensure the league title comes back to Ibrox. 

“We have stayed patient in our discussions as we know what Amad can bring to our group,” Ross Wilson told the club's website.

“Amad and Manchester United had an array of options this window across the Premier League and in Europe, so needless to say, I’m absolutely delighted that we have been able to convince both Manchester United and Amad that Rangers is the perfect place for him to continue to showcase his undoubted and exciting talent.”

What type of player is he?

So how good is Amad?

Any player worth £37m is far and away technically above the Scottish Premiership's required level, but the on-loan forward will be judged on his application and impact. To borrow a cliché, there are no guarantees in football; however, bringing a player regarded by Manchester United as one of the world's finest young talents to Scotland looks on the surface to be a near-certain success.

As mentioned above, we only have a handful of first-team games with which to judge the new signing. As such, it’s helpful to use his youth team fixtures to contextualise his style.

2019/20 was Amad's last full season in Italy and his per 90 statistics in the UEFA Youth League and Italian Primavera, along with three Serie A substitute appearances, impress.

What jumps out immediately upon watching the winger is the high number of dribbles he attempts per game. Comfortable receiving the ball wide by the touchline, or infield closer to the penalty area, his skillset when facing a defender one-v-one is expansive.

So far under van Bronckhorst, there has been a clear effort to increase the number of one-v-one duels on either wing, stretching the opposition defence by maintaining wide players on either side of their defensive set-up. Amad's arrival means the league leaders will be able to pose a threat on the right that equals Kent's exploits on the opposite flank.

Against Gerrard's Rangers, domestic opponents often gave up control of wide spaces to flood the middle, trusting their abilities to combat the crosses swung in by James Tavernier and Borna Barisic. Kent and Amad's wide starting positions will force teams to defend such zones intentionally and ensure they cannot remain as compact centrally.

Further, he appears perfectly suited to play in a system that encourages individualism and asks wide players to not rely on combination play to progress attacks. Clearly always looking to shift play onto his left foot, Amad's agility and speed over short distances usually supersede a defender's ability to match such movement. 

READ MORE: You can win a signed first-team shirt with a subscription to the Rangers Review!

His change of direction in these instances is almost emulative of a rugby winger, side-stepping markers and moving into preordained spaces. The inverted threat posed from the right will suit the vertical attacks van Bronckhorst seeks to introduce at Ibrox, the ability to change the angle of an attack by cutting infield and allowing full-backs to arrive in the vacated space is also worth noting.

His only goal for Manchester United came at the tail end of the last season as he darted in behind the AC Milan defence during a Europa League tie. This horizontal movement and ability to run beyond is valuable given the direct style often adopted away from home and again gives Rangers an increasing variety in attack.

A view from Old Trafford

UtdArena is run by a Man Utd supporter focused on tactical analysis, with a following of over 200,000 people on Twitter.

How do United fans view Amad Diallo?

“United fans generally see Amad as a very good player for the future and definitely a first-teamer to the extent that there's a cohort who believe he should be receiving more minutes than he actually is despite his current physical stature. It's due to his technical and tactical ability which are excellent for someone his age. Barring injuries, we'd expect him to receive far more first-team minutes next season."

How would you summarise his attributes? 

“He's got a great technical skillset in terms of the first touch, driving on the ball, receiving in tight space, playing give-and-gos, etc. It's similar to a young Juan Mata in that regard. His passing isn't as good in terms of playing extravagant balls, but he's the type that can interchange. It's something he's learnt from Atalanta, of course. Physically, he's quite quick but not explosively fast. Fast enough to create space between him and defenders and very agile on the ball. Amad is lacking in terms of overall size, too. He's not powerful and can be quite easily dominated depending on the situation. However, due to his lack of size, he knows how to use his body very well and that comes across immediately. He can hold up the ball against aggressive defenders quite well and also has the awareness to roll off his man too. He can use the opponent's aggression to his advantage by moving into vacated space quickly during duels.

“This leads onto game intelligence and the winger's overall tactical understanding of the game. He understands spacing, positioning and decision making very well and has a good IQ for what's happening and what should be done. Amad can play as a right-midfielder in a 4-4-2, a right attacking-midfielder in a 4-2-3-1, a right-winger in a 3-4-3 or 4-3-3 and be equally effective; a lot of that comes from the tactical understanding passed on to him in Italy. Mentally, he's confident and enthusiastic and definitely has a 'let me try this' attitude."

Is there an obvious weakness in his game?

“He's somewhat small in stature so that's plagued him, though he's tried to mitigate it with his game intelligence. Also, I'd say there is a rare tendency to be overconfident with the ball and constantly 'try things', but youngsters want to impress! Likewise, I wouldn't say he's a playmaker in the sense of expansive passes, though he has an array of cute passes which are effective when facing low blocks. Don't expect many crosses! He's more of a winger who'll cut in and then look for runners to play reverse passes."

How do you think he will fare in Scotland?

“I think there'll definitely be a 'woah' period at the beginning of his time at Rangers but I trust his ability to deal with physicality. He's a good problem solver and so as long as he's trusted by the manager and given time, I think the physical challenges won't be too detremiental to him."

Destined to succeed? 

There is no doubt that Amad possesses the technical attributes to shine at Ibrox. 

Trepidation surrounding his lack of football is valid, although every young player needs a platform at some stage. Destined ready to play Champions League football, making a Serie A debut at 17, there is a reason United were willing to pay such a large sum for the Ivory Coast international at just 18.

The loan move could give both parties exactly what they need. The United man gets first-team football in a demanding environment that places responsibility on his shoulders, Rangers secure the signing of a 'ready-now' winger who can solve their selection issues on the right.