Manchester United winger Amad appears to have sent his striker preference to Ruben Amorim ahead of the Manchester derby on Sunday.

The Ivorian has rapidly become one of United's most dependable players since Erik ten Hag was sacked at the end of October. Before his departure, Amad had to resort to being a back-up option but he was thrust into the starting line-up under interim boss Ruud van Nistelrooy.

Since then, he has managed to keep his place under Amorim and is one of the first names on the teamsheet for big matches. So far this campaign, the 22-year-old has managed three goals and six assists in just 22 appearances with a good chunk of those coming as cameos under Ten Hag.

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Amorim is more likely than not to start Amad at Manchester City on Sunday and the forward appears to have put his case forward for who should start alongside him in the front line. Sharing a picture of himself and Rasmus Hojlund on social media on Friday night, the winger added a love heart and a fingers crossed emoji.

The exact meaning of this message is unclear but it could be interpreted as Amad expressing his desire to see the Dane feature on Sunday from the start. Hojlund is currently vying for the centre-forward position with Joshua Zirkzee but it looks like he has the advantage.

Hojlund came off the bench on Thursday night to become the hero as his brace helped the Reds come from a goal down to beat Viktoria Plzen 2-1 in Czechia. Amad played a part in Hojlund's first on the night as an incredible piece of skill saw him get a shot off which deflected into the path of the striker to score.

During the match, it appeared that Amad and Hojlund were involved in a spat. Both players declined opportunities to pass to one another during the game and then had a heated confrontation at full-time before the situation resolved itself.

After the game, Amorim addressed the situation and played down its severity. "Yes (I was aware of that clash) and for me it was perfect," he told the media.

"You know, in this moment we need to feel something. If we need to fight each other, it's like a family.

"For me it's a very, very good sign. We need to feel something and that is important."