It was troublesome to not be heartened by the braveness and resilience proven by Ruben Amorim‘s makeshift Manchester United facet on Friday night, with the hosts clinging on to safe a significant 1-0 win over Newcastle United.
Wave after wave of Magpies assaults had been repelled even amid a carousel of modifications within the Crimson Devils’ backline, with 19-year-old Ayden Heaven scooping the person of the match gong following his standout show as the one ever-present in that defensive unit.
{The teenager}’s process was little question made all of the harder contemplating the woes of these forward of him, with United’s string of attack-minded absences leaving them with little in the way in which of an out ball in that battling second-half.
How Amorim’s facet might have carried out with the tempo and energy of a determine like Antoine Semenyo to tug them again up the pitch, with the Ghanaian’s blistering ball-carrying velocity having been so evident within the 4-4 thriller with Bournemouth not too way back.
Sadly, it seems to be more and more seemingly that the 25-year-old will probably be heading elsewhere subsequent month, with INEOS and United maybe turning their consideration to an appropriate different as a substitute.
Man Utd maintain talks over Semenyo different
A summer season that noticed each Matheus Cunha and Bryan Mbeumo snapped up from Premier League rivals may even have seen Semenyo comply with swimsuit, albeit with United believed to have been postpone by the ex-Bristol Metropolis man’s £70m plus price ticket.
Heading into the looming January window, these at Previous Trafford seemingly revived that curiosity following strategies that calls had been being made final week, with the in-form ahead out there for a price of £65m, owing to his upcoming launch clause.
Frustratingly for United and different top-flight rivals, it seems to be to be Manchester Metropolis who will finally win the race for his signature, with Semenyo reportedly selecting the Etihad as his most popular vacation spot for 2026, as per David Ornstein.
With that in thoughts, Amorim and co may effectively be shifting their focus, with TEAMtalk reporting that the membership have ‘joined the chase’ for RB Leipzig sensation, Yan Diomande.
As per the report, United are the ultimate member of the standard ‘huge six’ to have registered their curiosity within the 19-year-old, with INEOS having already held talks with {the teenager}’s camp in current weeks.
The piece does be aware that any potential transfer would seemingly need to be a summer season one, nonetheless, with prior hypothesis suggesting he might be out there for a price of round £87m.
Why Diomande is so “comparable” to Semenyo
It was evident once more on Friday night {that a} handful of absentees can depart United trying so desperately quick on the high finish of the pitch, with the hosts ending the sport with Patrick Dorgu on one flank and Diogo Dalot on the opposite as the 2 most superior vast choices.
With no Amad and Mbeumo to name upon, and having allowed the likes of Marcus Rashford and Alejandro Garnacho to depart, Amorim seems in actual want of an additional spark – one thing to ignite his facet within the ultimate third.
Semenyo, with 9 objectives to his identify already this season within the Premier League, would absolutely have carried out simply that, though younger Diomande may simply be the subsequent smartest thing, even when the Crimson Devils have to attend till subsequent summer season.
Certainly, within the view of The Athletic’s Seb Stafford-Bloor, the pair are “bodily comparable”, with Diomande possessing “all the identical ability and contact” as his senior counterpart.
That likeness can little question be seen of their current goalscoring scorching streaks in 2025/26 thus far, with the Leipzig starlet – who’s at the moment on AFCON obligation – scoring six objectives within the Bundesliga to this point, alongside offering two assists.
Like Semenyo too, there’s a actual two-footed high quality to the £87m teenager, with Diomande having scored 4 of these together with his proper and two together with his left, as per Sofascore.
Probably the most notable attribute that the Ivorian possesses is his fleet-footed dribbling prowess, rating within the high 1% of wingers in Europe’s high 5 leagues for profitable take-ons per 90, as per FBref, in addition to within the high 3% for progressive carries per 90.
|
Diomande – 25/26 Bundesliga stats |
|
|---|---|
|
Stat (per 90) |
Diomande |
|
Non-penalty objectives |
0.61 |
|
Assists |
0.20 |
|
Shot-creating actions |
4.66 |
|
Go completion |
81.3% |
|
Progressive passes |
4.05 |
|
Progressive carries |
6.28 |
|
Profitable take-ons |
4.26 |
|
Prog passes obtained |
7.91 |
|
Tackles |
1.32 |
|
Interceptions |
0.71 |
Not solely an outlet in assault, Diomande additionally chips in defensively from his vast berth, rating within the high 3% for interceptions and the highest 11% for tackles per 90, with it no shock that journalist Bence Bocsak hailed him as a “generational expertise“.
Semenyo, for comparability, has his personal strengths in a defensive sense too, rating within the high 3% for each blocks and aerial duels gained per 90, throughout the final twelve months.
In fact, it’s the latter man who’s scorching property within the Premier League proper now, but if United are eager to hunt out a extra long-term, high-potential different, then Diomande might effectively be the person.
Worse than Sesko: £105k-per-week dud ought to by no means play for Man Utd once more
Manchester United’s flaws had been uncovered even amid Boxing Day’s battling win over Newcastle United.
