Why Manchester United loanee Amad played for Sunderland U21s

manchestereveningnews.co.uk:

Manchester United forward Amad played for Sunderland U21s on Monday night because he was in need of minutes. The Ivorian forward played the entirety of the match as Sunderland lost 1-0 at home to Leeds United in the Premier League 2, Division 2.

Graeme Murty was only named Sunderland’s new head of professional development phase last week and was keen to use his first match in the dugout as an opportunity to give first-team players some much-needed match fitness. READ MORE: United showed how much progress they have made in 17-pass move Amad was one of nine senior players who started the match at the Stadium of Light after the United loanee's difficult start to life in the North East.

The 20-year-old has made six appearances for Sunderland so far this season, though five of those have come from the bench and he is yet to register a goal or an assist for his new club. “The game was moved to the stadium and we’ve had numerous first-team players dropped into it against the side who are top of the table and playing really, really well,” Murty told the Sunderland Echo. “I loved it and thought as a football match it was exactly what the first team wanted when they got that amount of numbers dropped into the team and I’m really pleased with their application.

I’m disappointed with the result but I can’t fault the way they went about their business. “As long as they could get through it the lads need minutes.