Of all the dominoes to fall for Manchester United during this week of training, Amad’s injury carried the heaviest impact.
Kobbie Mainoo, Manuel Ugarte and Toby Collyer will all be missed against Tottenham Hotspur on Sunday, each succumbing to issues during sessions at Carrington, but the news that Amad is set to be out for several weeks, potentially missing the rest of the season, was the one that will have worried United fans the most.
Losing Amad, who has suffered ankle ligament damage, for the campaign run-in would damage United severely. He has played a part in 43 per cent of United’s Premier League goals, having scored six and assisted six. That overall contribution of 12 to a meagre club total of 28 goals is a ratio that shows him to be as important to United as Cole Palmer to Chelsea, Erling Haaland to Manchester City, Ollie Watkins to Aston Villa, and Matheus Cunha to Wolverhampton Wanderers.
PL sides’ most important players
| Premier League 24-25 | Goals | Assists | Goals + assists | Team goals | Percentage |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Mohamed Salah |
22 |
14 |
36 |
58 |
62% |
|
Alexander Isak |
17 |
5 |
22 |
42 |
52% |
|
Liam Delap |
10 |
2 |
12 |
23 |
52% |
|
Chris Wood |
18 |
2 |
20 |
41 |
49% |
|
Ollie Watkins |
11 |
5 |
16 |
35 |
46% |
|
Matheus Cunha |
11 |
4 |
15 |
34 |
44% |
|
Amad |
6 |
6 |
12 |
28 |
43% |
|
Cole Palmer |
14 |
6 |
20 |
47 |
43% |
|
Erling Haaland |
19 |
3 |
22 |
52 |
42% |
|
Bryan Mbeumo |
14 |
3 |
17 |
43 |
40% |
|
Jamie Vardy |
7 |
3 |
10 |
25 |
40% |
Amad’s hat-trick against Southampton turned defeat into victory, likewise his interventions at the Etihad where he was fouled for a penalty and squeezed in a dramatic winner. He also scored at Anfield to rescue a point against Liverpool.
His influence has been broader and less tangible though. The 22-year-old has been the player exciting fans with his bravery on the ball and determination off it, a shining hope amid a season of desolation both on the pitch, where the football has been mainly painful, and in the offices, where redundancies are sucking morale.
Ruben Amorim first spoke of needing to “survive” on Boxing Day and with Amad’s flame extinguished for the next few weeks, it is no longer an exaggeration to say the primary focus is on avoiding relegation. The Europa League and FA Cup had looked like genuine prospects of silverware given United’s potential in knockout ties, but removing Amad’s quality now makes those inevitably tight future contests appear much more difficult given the team’s scoring problems.
The safety net to the drop zone is large, of course, and based on previous seasons, one or two more wins will be enough. Still, there was a certain irony about Marcus Rashford’s free kick being the source of Ollie Watkins’ equaliser for Aston Villa against Ipswich on Saturday, at around the same time as the Amad news was breaking, thus depriving Kieran McKenna’s side of two points. Ipswich are 12 points off United in 18th, having played a game more.
In reality, Amad’s absence means ambitions to finish the campaign strongly and climb to a slightly more respectable position are remote. Allowing Rashford to leave on loan, as well as Antony, and not bring in another attacker may have been financially prudent, but they have undoubtedly diminished the team from a sporting perspective.
The decision left United with four forwards. Bruno Fernandes has scored five and assisted six in the Premier League this season to stand a shade behind Amad for importance in an offensive sense, but he may have to start in deeper midfield for as long as Mainoo, Ugarte and Collyer are out. Four injuries in a week will invite serious questions. They joined Mason Mount, Luke Shaw, and Lisandro Martinez as outfield injuries, although it is hoped Mount and Shaw will be back soon.
New signing Patrick Dorgu may operate as one of the two No 10s rather than a wing-back, having played as a winger at times for Lecce.
This was supposed to be a clear week when Amorim could drill his ideas into his players, but calamity has come instead, topped off by a signal failure on the West Coast Mainline meaning the team had to travel to London by coach rather than train on Saturday. Amorim being up front about injury issues in Friday’s press conference hinted at their significance.
In response, United’s head coach is turning to the academy. Several youth players are expected to be in the squad at Tottenham, with Chido Obi, the 17-year-old striker who has 12 goals in 12 games for the youth teams this season, offering something of an attacking promise. Jack Moorhouse, 19, is a very smooth carrier of the ball and could provide help in midfield.
From pressurised circumstances, talent can blossom — Rashford took his chance during an injury crisis in 2016 — and there are people at United who believe that while early in their careers, some of those being promoted from the academy might spring a pleasant surprise. Arsenal have suffered major injuries, too, but they have been blessed by the emergence of teenagers Ethan Nwaneri and Miles Lewis-Skelly, albeit their potential has been telegraphed.
United’s lifeblood is youth and these circumstances should ensure the run of consecutive games including an academy player in the first-team squad will continue. The sequence dates back to 1937 and stands at 4,298 matches. It almost ended for the Manchester derby in December when Rashford and Alejandro Garnacho were dropped, but Mainoo, as the academy’s sole representative, kept the thread intact.
The responsibility for covering Amad falls to senior players. Rasmus Hojlund, Joshua Zirkee and Garnacho need to start scoring, as do others in the side, but the chance is there for someone lesser known to make an impression ahead of time. They will have to go some to match the vibrancy brought by Amad.
(Top photo: Richard Sellers/Sportsphoto/Allstar via Getty Images)
