It would be fair to say Amad has been taking cues from Michael Carrick way before our new head coach’s first training session on Wednesday.
The Ivorian moved from no.19 to no.16 at the start of the 2021/22 term, inheriting the jersey that Michael wore so pridefully across his 12 playing seasons at Old Trafford.
That was an honour for Amad, who cited Carrick as a legend while speaking to club media at the time, as he expressed his understanding of the number’s legacy and the responsibility that comes with wearing it after such a talented player.
“When I was told that I was getting the number 16 shirt, I was happy because I know that Michael Carrick had previously worn that shirt for a long time and so it is a number worn by a legend of the club,”Amad told us five years ago.
“So, I have to respect the number and the players who wore it before me.”
The 23-year-old has worked hard to show that respect since, even if he didn’t get chance to make an appearance wearing it before Carrick departed our staff in December 2021.
After loan spells at Rangers and Sunderland – where he scored in a 2023 win over Michael’s Middlesbrough side – Amad has become a key member of the United squad, so much so that his return from representing the Ivory Coast at the Africa Cup of Nations was a significant storyline from Michael’s first session back on Wednesday.
The Ivorian started 16 of our 17 games across all competitions before international duty called, so it is a welcome sight to see him at our training base again, alongside Bryan Mbeumo who played for Cameroon at the mid-season tournament.
The pair have missed our last six outings, most recently featuring in December’s 4-4 draw with Bournemouth as Amad opened the scoring, but their availability for Saturday’s Manchester derby would be a boost as Carrick prepares to take charge of his first game in the new role.
It is then that Amad could give Michael a first-hand look at the respect he has shown the jersey, with a performance in a fixture that his 90th-minute winner memorably settled at the Etihad Stadium last season.