Leeds United are still without manager after falling from the Premier League this year, but that has not stopped rumours filtering through of the club's interest in Amad Diallo.
According to The Mirror, the Manchester United winger has emerged as an option for a loan move this summer with Wilfried Gnonto eyeing a departure from Elland Road after relegation from the Premier League.
The Championship outfit's soon-to-be-confirmed owners, the 49ers, will be targetting a swift return to the top-flight, and the Ivorian could hold the formula after a prolific loan spell with defeated Championship play-off semi-finalists Sunderland.
Signing for the Red Devils from Atalanta for a fee potentially rising to £37m in January 2021, the 20-year-old is certainly an unlikely candidate given the historic rivalry between the respective outfits but it could serve as a move to fit the interests of all parties.
How would Amad Diallo perform at Leeds?
The £29k-per-week winger has only made nine appearances for Manchester United since his arrival, scoring one goal and supplying one assist, and after an indifferent loan spell with Scottish giants Rangers, Diallo has found his feet in England's north east.
With Sunderland returning from the obscurity of the third tier last term, a stellar season is the only way to describe the job that Tony Mowbray did in mounting a promotion push, with the one-year deal for Diallo proving a masterstroke as the prodigious talent served as the offensive centrepiece.
Indeed, the three-cap gem scored 14 goals and supplied four assists from 43 matches across all competitions, including a goal against promoted Luton Town in the play-offs – his feats are even more impressive when noting that he blanked across his first eight matches in the Championship.
Earning an average Sofascore rating of 6.98 after complimenting his direct return with an 86% pass completion rate, averaging 1.8 shots and 1.1 key passes per game, Leeds would inject a "wizard" of a winger, as he has been called by journalist James Copley.
He could even emerge as Elland Road's next Raphinha, with the Brazilian "magician" – as he has been hailed by Dan James – departing the club for Barcelona for £55m last summer.
Like Diallo, Raphinha is an electric flanker with the capabilities to conjure up something out of nothing from the right wing, darting inside onto his favoured left foot to wreak havoc.
Indeed, for the Whites, he posted 17 goals and 12 assists across his two Premier League campaigns with the outfit, and given that he averaged 2.2 and 2.5 shots, and 2.1 and 1.9 key passes a game – as per WhoScored -across the two terms, it's clear that Diallo can match his presence in the second tier as Leeds target an instant return.
Perhaps their dynamic nature can be best compared via their dribble success. Both can beat an opponent with ease out wide, with Diallo registering 3.72 progressive carries per 90 in the last year to Raphinha's four per 90.
Blessed with trickery and speed to bamboozle any defender, such a signing would surely have fans at Elland Road standing to attention.
