He was a monster: £20m star looks like Sunderland’s biggest talent since Amad

Amad Diallo made his return to the Stadium of Light on Saturday when Sunderland welcomed Manchester United to Wearside in the Premier League.

The Ivorian forward spent the 2022/23 campaign on loan at the club when Tony Mowbray’s team made it to the play-offs, only to lose to Luton Town in the semi-finals.

In that season, Amad was Sunderland’s top goalscorer in all competitions with 14 goals, including one in the play-offs, and he provided four assists.

Whilst the Black Cats did not get over the line to get to the top-flight with him in the side, the left-footed forward is still fondly remembered for his impressive performances on loan from Manchester United that season.

Amad got a warm reception from the home support at the Stadium of Light on Saturday, and he did little to make the Sunderland supporters cheer against him throughout the game.

How Amad Diallo performed on his return to Sunderland

The Ivorian winger started the game on the right flank for the Red Devils and was substituted in the 75th minute after doing very little to effect the match in his time on the pitch.

Amad got virtually nothing against Reinildo, who was excellent at left-back for Regis Le Bris, as he ended the game with zero shots on target and zero chances created for his side.

Sunderland supporters watched the 23-year-old star create moments of magic on a regular basis at the Stadium of Light a few years ago, but he had nothing to wow the crowd with on Saturday.

Amad was reliable enough with the ball for United, completing 90% of his attempted passes, but his performance lacked electricity and he failed to cause the Sunderland defence any problems before being substituted.

Meanwhile, a current Black Cats star showed that he is the club’s biggest talent since the ex-Atalanta star returned to Old Trafford almost three years ago.

Sunderland have found their biggest talent since Amad Diallo

Despite all the talk of Bruno Fernandes, who has 19 assists in the league, breaking the Premier League assist record, it was a Sunderland player who looked like the most creative player on the pitch at the Stadium of Light.

Enzo Le Fee lined up in the number ten position for the Black Cats and produced a sublime performance for Le Bris, but his teammates failed to make the most of his creative quality.

Sunderland’s £20m attacking midfielder was a creative monster in the middle of the park, creating almost four times as much xA as Bruno, and was incredibly unfortunate to come off the pitch without an assist to show for his efforts.

The French magician deserved an assist in the 63rd minute when he plucked a ball out of the sky, turned brilliantly and threaded a perfect pass through to Brian Brobbey, only for Senne Lammens to make a brilliant save down to his right.

He outperformed the former Sunderland wing wizard, Amad, and the league’s top creator, Bruno, to show that Sunderland have one of the most impressive creative talents in the league.

Le Fee, who has scored five goals and provided five assists in all competitions, looks like the club’s biggest talent since Amad because he is delivering incredibly impressive performances in the Premier League, which is the highest level the club have played at since the Ivorian left.

No player in the Black Cats squad has more xG (4.93), more xA (5.12), or more ‘big chances’ created (ten) than Le Fee in the Premier League this season, which shows that he has been Le Fee’s most influential attacker.

The 26-year-old is heading into the prime years of his career and it is exciting to think about what he could go on to achieve in a Sunderland shirt, as he has so many years left ahead of him to develop further.

Le Fee is the most exciting and influential attacking outlet for Sunderland in the Premier League, which is why it is hard to argue against him being the club’s biggest talent since they had Amad.