Ex-Rangers loan star takes to social media as return to former club mooted

Former Rangers loan star Amad Diallo took to social media on Tuesday night as he attempts to address recent speculation on his future.

The Manchester United forward spent the second half of the 2021/2022 season at Ibrox and scored on his debut in a 3-3 draw with Ross County but failed to make an impact in Scotland, where he struggled for game time under Giovanni van Bronckhorst but now currently finds himself part of a transfer tug of war.

Out of action for the majority of the current campaign due to injury, Amad returned to the Manchester United squad for their recent 2-1 defeat to Nottingham Forest in the Premier League and it was thought the player could be available on a temporary deal which has alerted a number of clubs.

Last season he enjoyed a supremely successful time at Sunderland, developing an affinity with the clubs' fans after scoring 14 goals to help the team march into the EFL Championship play offs on their return to the second tier. Black Cats fans have been desperate to see him return to the Stadium Of Light but reportedly face strong competition from promotion rivals Leicester City, Middlesbrough and Southampton.

A number of reports on Tuesday indicated that Amad was set to move Black Cats near rivals Middlesbrough with former Man Utd midfielder Michael Carrick said to have 'used his connections' to lure the Ivorian to the Riverside Stadium. It was also reported they were happy to pay a larger chunk of the 21-year-old's wages and were close to winning the race for his signature.

However, in unpreceded fashion the youngster took to social media to quash rumours of a move to Middlesbrough, messaging a Sunderland fan page to confirm that if he was to depart to the Championship this month "it would be Sunderland and not anywhere else" before posting a photo of himself during his Wearside spell via his Instagram stories immediately afterwards.

Despite that though, Amad is expected to remain at Manchester United this month with Manchester Evening News' Samuel Luckhurst reporting the club believing the 21-year-old has "an important role to play in the squad".