You should never fall in love with a loan player, but Sunderland fans fell head over heels for Amad. "The Sunderland fans absolutely adored him up there and they had a song about him. I think a lot of them did fall in love," said former Sunderland captain Corry Evans.

"When there were rumours he was going back to Sunderland last year, the whole place was getting excited, but it wasn’t to be and he's been Manchester United's go-to man this season."

Amad has become a regular starter at Old Trafford but there have been setbacks along the way. His success at Sunderland was sandwiched between a loan with Rangers that didn't go as planned and a knee injury on tour with United. Then he was overlooked by Erik ten Hag when he was fit again.

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Just a year later, there would be uproar if Amad departed and the youngster recently signed a contract that will expire in the summer of 2030, highlighting how much he's valued.

Amad scored the matchwinner against Manchester City in December, the equaliser against Liverpool at Anfield and netted a sensational hat-trick in 10 minutes against Southampton, but his highlight reel from his Sunderland loan spell would rival his goals from this season.

Evans captained Sunderland for three years and recently spoke to the Manchester Evening News to provide insight into Amad's stint with the Black Cats. "I’m delighted to see him smashing it this season. And in a way, it makes you proud that you’ve played with him and been a part of his journey to see where he’s ended up. You could see his ability straight away," Evans explained.

"I actually knew about him before he joined Sunderland because I obviously support Man United and I happened to play against Amad when I was coming back from an injury at Blackburn.

"I played against United’s U23s at Leigh Sports Village. He played that night and you could see his quality. He was playing off the right and he was just jinking his shoulder, as he does, coming inside, and you could tell he was a really good footballer, so that was my first interaction with him.

"I follow Rangers as well, so I knew Amad didn’t have the best of times up there and didn’t get as many games as he hoped for. I’m also quite close to the head of recruitment at Sunderland and when he was coming in, I asked him what is he like because he’d been up at Rangers and didn’t play much. And he told me 'no, this boy has ability and you’ll really enjoy playing with him'.

Sunderland's head of recruitment, Stuart Harvey, was certainly right about Amad, who contributed 13 league goals and three assists as Sunderland reached the Championship play-offs.

"You wouldn’t think he’s strong, but then you get up close to him in training... He’s very wily and he uses his body really intelligently. That impressed me straight away," said Evans.

"He was a bit shy and we were lucky because we had four or five French boys, so obviously he mingled with them straight away and that helped him settle in. But as I say, some of the stuff he was doing in training and then later on in games as the season went on, you could see his ability.

"He started off pretty slow and had to bide his time a little bit. And then it just seemed to click with him and he just went on this brilliant roll when he was our main man every week.

"He was assisting and scoring for fun. I remember one game and it sticks out in my mind, it was our last game before the break for the 2022 World Cup. The game was on TV that night, it was a Friday night against Birmingham, and he cut inside, then bang - finish. From that moment on, you could see he was going to fly when he came back from the break. He was unstoppable at times."

Tony Mowbray played a huge role in Amad's development at Sunderland, and Amad has said he was like a father figure. The pair have remained in touch through texts since his loan and Amad credits Mowbray with giving him the confidence to show his ability.

"I think he was lucky in the sense that we had Tony Mowbray, who was really entrusting with young players," said Evans. "Tony has done it loads of times throughout his career and I think back to Blackburn when we had Harvey Elliott on loan as a 17-year-old. He just trusts the players, no matter what age they are, and I think that’s why young players really develop under him.

"Tony just trusts them and says 'listen, they’re talented, just give them the ball'. That’s what he used to say about Amad, just give him the ball. He would say 'give it to the good players. I’m not saying in a disrespectful way to you, but just give it to the good players because they’ll make the best decisions.'

"And then he would say something like 'back when I was a player at Middlesbrough and Ipswich, I would give it to the best players and we would win games'. So it was always drilled in to feed him basically, give him the ball, because they’re the players who can change games.

"You couldn't get the ball off him because he can shift his hips and shoulders and put you off balance. He glides and you can’t stop him from coming back onto his left foot. He’s one of them players."

Amad was eventually moved to the right wing and he changed plenty of games for Sunderland. He was nominated for the Championship Young Player of the Year award.

"I think that season, we lost Ross Stewart who was our main striker through a couple of bad injuries, so we were lacking a focal point up front," said Evans. "They tried Amad through the middle as a nine, but it wasn’t really working, so we ended up going for a false nine in a way.

"We had Patrick Roberts and Amad, and Amad would always drift over to the right side and Patrick would play on the right, but they would just play with defenders in matches.

"The link-up play between them was a joy to watch and I think there was goal he scored away at Wigan when they're both just playing little passes with each other on the right, then Amad comes inside and rifles one into the far corner. It’s great to play with quality like that.

"I remember when Amad first came in and I put him through on goal against Middlesbrough - I think it was Mowbray’s first game. He came off the bench and he was one-on-one with their goalkeeper.

"And instead of shooting, he’s tried to backheel it for someone. It was like he was still in training, doing tricks, and I think from then he started to realise he had to start taking those chances.

"The whole team was really enjoyable to be a part of because we had attacking, fluid players, who were all interchangeable. We weren’t rigid. We had the likes of Patrick Roberts, Amad, Alex Pritchard and Jack Clarke, who would go win us games, and we were unlucky to lose in the play-off semi-final against Luton, but that's football and hopefully Sunderland can come up this year.

"Amad scored a banger on the final day of the season against Preston to get us into the play-offs. It just fell to him outside of the box and he smashed it home. The one I mentioned before against Wigan, that was probably even further out than the Preston one - it was probably my favourite.

"There were so many great goals and that was the quality he possessed. He could change the swing of a game in an instance with his ability, especially with shooting from distance like that."

Amad was visited by Les Parry, who recently left United, during his time on loan with Sunderland and Darren Fletcher went to a number of games. It was the best season of his career and he was hopeful of impressing Ten Hag when he returned to Carrington in the summer of 2023.

However, disaster struck when Amad suffered a knee injury in a pre-season friendly against Arsenal in the United States which meant he didn't return until the end of December.

Evans spoke to his brother, Jonny Evans, about Amad when he first returned to United and was "gutted" for him when he picked up the injury. "It’s a big jump from doing well in the Championship to doing well in the Premier League, particularly at a club like Man United, and even when he went back to United, Jonny had signed again and I was always asking how he was doing," he explained.

"I asked whether he was close to playing. Jonny said, 'Yeah, he’s done well in pre-season and I’m sure he’ll be in and around it,' but then he got a bad injury and I was gutted for him because I thought he would have got a few more chances in the first team and you might have seen him kick on.

"It was obviously frustrating for him, coming on the back of the Sunderland high, and I think there was some talk around that January transfer window that he could return to Sunderland."

It didn't take long for Amad to become frustrated when he was available again. He was an unused substitute against Newport County in the FA Cup and Omari Forson, who now plays for Monza, played ahead of him.

Sunderland fans wanted Amad to return and he messaged a supporter to say: “If I had to come back on loan to the Championship, it would be at Sunderland and not anywhere else.”

Ten Hag didn't fancy Amad, but the youngster had a watershed moment in the FA Cup quarter-final against Liverpool when he scored in extra-time to claim a special 4-3 victory.

Since then, Amad has proven his quality and a source admitted he has 'grown in confidence' over the last 12 months. Amad is also understood to be 'really dedicated to recovery work' at Carrington and his English has improved, which has helped him speak confidently to the media.

Amad is close with Alejandro Garnacho, Kobbie Mainoo and Leny Yoro, but Andre Onana has been described as 'really good with him' and often passes on advice to the 22-year-old.

United provided Amad with plenty of support when he arrived from Atalanta. He took English lessons and an Italian member of staff helped him a lot as he settled into life in Manchester.

Amad's loan at Rangers might have been a tough period, but a source admitted it was a 'good challenge' for him, while also noting he 'came back more mature' and with a trophy win.

"He probably learned from the experience at Rangers and I always think there’s no such thing as a bad loan because either way you’re going to learn from it to help your career," said Evans.

"When you go on loan, you have to learn to get into the team, you have to fight for your place and doing that at Rangers probably helped him going forward into his career, even now.

"I think some lads go on loan, particularly from big clubs, and they just think it’s a given they should be starting. But it’s not about that, it’s about learning and looking after yourself off the pitch. All these little things that come into it and I think you can always learn from something.

"I always tried my best to help him at Sunderland. He’s a quiet lad, but they were all a great bunch in that dressing room. When you are doing well as a team, everyone gets on more. It’s a lot different to when you’re not winning games. You’re on a high and everyone is playing well.

"Amad is a really humble guy and down to earth. I’ve had a few chats with him about his life growing up in Italy, and he was telling me about his family, so he’s a real humble guy and I managed to see him at the afterparty following the FA Cup final last season, which was nice.

"I went down to watch Jonny and Amad was at the afterparty. My son got a picture with him and it was great to see him again, just catching up about our time together at Sunderland."

Evans is back living in Manchester with his family and recently signed for Oldham Athletic. He is close to his brother, Jonny, and has loved watching Amad thrive for United this season.

"I just love his honesty and his work rate," said Evans. "It’s great to see and I think as any fan, you want to see the work he does. His pressing is brilliant and he scores goals from winning the ball high up, and the chances he’s created from that, I think that’s what every fan wants to see.

"But to add to that, he also has the ability of scoring worldies, getting the fans on the edge of their seat and going one-vs-one. I think his all-round game has improved so much and to see it consistently now at a high level for United is fantastic. And as a fan, it’s great to watch.

"I’m sure United fans will be over the moon with his performances this year. But I’m sure he can go up another level and he’s got the world at his feet really. He’s become integral to the team, he’s starting every game now for Man United and when you get to that stage, it’s about consistency and he’s shown that so far this season. Although, it’s obviously not just about one season.

"Amad could be at United for the next 10 years. And it’s about the longevity and churning out the consistent performances every season, not just being a one-season wonder, so hopefully he will achieve that, and I think he does have the mentality to keep going and striving to improve. His all-round game has improved so much.

"I've got no doubt he's at the right place for it. He’s at a huge club and I think the Sunderland and Rangers loans helped hugely. They’re big clubs themselves, with demanding fanbases, and I think that’s probably helped him going back to Man United, as he already knew what is expected.

"Hopefully he goes on to have an unbelievable rest of his career because he’s such a nice lad and down to earth. When you come across people like that, you want to see them do well."