Amad Diallo turned up for Sunderland Under-21s on Monday night after struggling to impress at the Stadium Of Light.
The Manchester United winger joined the Black Cats on a season-long loan deal over the summer as he sought more regular first-team football.
After making 13 appearances for Rangers last season, the 20-year-old had hoped to get a start but that didn’t quite happen at Wearside.
Since joining Sunderland, Diallo has made six appearances for Tony Mowbray’s side, but the winger has started just one of those matches, a 0-0 draw with Blackpool.
With regular minutes proving hard to come by, Diallo was named in the Under-21 squad for the clash with Leeds on Monday night, a match which saw him play the full 90 minutes in a 1-0 defeat .
U21 club boss Graeme Murty explained that despite the loss, it was a good game in terms of the number of first-team players in the squad looking for minutes.
“I loved it and thought as a game of football it was exactly what the first team wanted when they got so many numbers in the team and I’m really happy with their bid,” did he declare.
“I’m disappointed with the result but I can’t fault the way they want their business,” adding that he kept a few of the U21 players on the bench to help the first team.
“The idea is that the senior players come and give them as many minutes as they can handle and I thought they were doing it right and it was a really good game of football.”
However, when it comes to Man United, Diallo’s lack of regular starts could be a concern.
Sunderland are facing something of a striking crisis with key forwards Ross Stewart and Ellis Simms both currently sidelined through injury.
With Diallo capable of playing in attack, the fact that he is struggling for regular playing time suggests it could be a tough campaign for the 20-year-old.
It’s a less than ideal scenario for United who will be hoping to see their talent play on a regular basis having already made nine senior appearances for the Red Devils.
Of course, the season is still in its early stages, but Diallo’s involvement for the Under-21s will no doubt have been timed by the United squad who will be looking to see his involvement in games increase in the coming weeks.