Ashley Williams says that one Manchester United star has caused a ‘problem’ for Ruben Amorim despite being a ‘devastating’ attacking player.
United’s winning run came to an end on Saturday as they were held to a 2-2 draw by Nottingham Forest despite taking the lead at the City Ground.
Casemiro headed the Red Devils in front but quickfire goals from Morgan Gibbs-White and Nicolo Savona turned the game around early in the second-half, before Amad Diallo volleyed in a sublime equaliser late on.
Amad received plenty of praise for his goal and has been regarded as one of the more successful players of Amorim’s first year at Old Trafford.
But the Ivory Coast international was criticised for his part in Gibbs-White’s equaliser and Williams says the wing-back’s poor defensive play has caused a ‘conundrum’ for his head coach.
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‘He’s in the team because of his attacking qualities but he can’t play in the two No.10 positions because they have Bryan Mbeumo and Matheus Cunha who are playing really well,’ the former Premier League defender told Match of the Day.
‘So where does he play? He plays right wing-back and finds himself in defensive positions at times which isn’t his strength.
‘He’s in this full-back position because he has to do his work. He’s an honest lad and he’s trying to get back and do a job for his team but it’s not his quality. His quality is going forward.
‘[Then] Amad gets in a centre-back position trying to head a ball out which is not his strength and they concede from that.
‘On the flip side, going forward he’s devastating. His goal, what a strike it is, the technique is perfect.
‘This is not a player you want defending. He’s in the team because of his attacking play and he’s such an honest lad that he ends up doing lots of defensive work and then it looks bad on him.
‘But realistically, Ruben Amorim has to sort this problem out and get Leny Yoro across a bit quicker so Amad can play higher up the pitch.’
United signed Amad from Atalanta in a deal worth up to £37million in 2021, but it wasn’t until last season that he broke into the first-team once Amorim had replaced Erik ten Hag.
Can Amad Diallo play at wing-back?
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Yes, he just needs to improve his defending
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No, he’s better off as a No.10
The 23-year-old quickly became a key player, recording 11 goals and 10 assists in 43 appearances across all competitions, a rare shining light in an otherwise terrible season for the club.
‘Honestly we are really disappointed to go home with one point,’ Amad said after the draw at Forest, which leaves United seventh in the table.
‘We were in a good moment, winning three games in a row. We wanted to do the fourth, but we can learn from this and then try to do the best next time.
‘As a team, we are learning every day with the manager, with Ruben, because we believe in his system. But I think today we are really disappointed because as a team we demand a lot.’
United can get back to winning ways next Saturday when they travel to Tottenham who suffered defeat to fierce rivals Chelsea this weekend.
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