Manchester United winger Amad Diallo has confirmed he will not be representing Ivory Coast at the Africa Cup of Nations.
The young talent, aged 21, returned from a knee injury sustained during the team’s pre-season tour in the United States and made his season debut as a substitute against Nottingham Forest last Saturday.
In 2021, Diallo earned his initial international cap and has participated in four matches for the Ivory Coast. However, despite his previous achievements, the former Atalanta rising star did not secure a spot in the final squad for the competition held in their home country this month.
Several media sources have included Diallo in the roster of players set for international duty in the upcoming weeks. However, the player has taken to social media to assert that these reports are inaccurate.
Having an outstanding season on loan at Sunderland in the previous year, Diallo aims to secure a place in Erik ten Hag’s strategies at Old Trafford.
Entering the field as a substitute for Antony in the second half of last week’s loss to Forest, the young player aspires to compete with the Brazilian for a spot in the starting lineup this weekend against Wigan Athletic in the FA Cup.
Coming off the bench, his performance stood out as one of the few positive aspects for United in their 2-1 loss, earning him specific praise from ten Hag.
‘In the second half, they [the attackers] were in the match,’ he said. ‘I thought Amad Diallo came in really good, Alejandro Garnacho played a very good game, I think,’ said Erik ten Hag.
‘How he fought for that all the time and prepared the goal, a good goal by Marcus Rashford.’
Diallo will stay in Manchester, while Andre Onana is set to represent Cameroon at AFCON.
Negotiations are underway between United and Cameroon to postpone his departure, aiming to retain him until after the Premier League clash with Tottenham on January 14. Cameroon initiates their campaign against Guinea the day after.
