Tony Mowbray comments on possible Sunderland-Manchester United relationship after Amad loan

Sunderland boss Tony Mowbray is hoping for a continued relationship with Manchester United, following Amad Diallo's impressive spell on loan last season.

Diallo scored 14 goals for Sunderland in the Championship last season. He shone, winning over the hearts of Black Cats fans who witnessed their side pull off an unlikely top six finish last season.

And Diallo was at the heart of all things good about Sunderland last time round, but a return is starting to look increasingly unlikely as Premier League and European interest in Diallo grows ahead of the summer transfer window.

But Mowbray is hoping that his side could eventually see more Manchester United youngsters arrive on loan.

He said on the possibility of building a future relationship with the Red Devils:

"I think so. I hope we can keep a close relationship with United, if they need to loan young players out."

Mowbray's first season in management was way back in 2004. He's had spells in charge of Hibernian, West Brom, Celtic, Middlesbrough, Coventry City, Blackburn Rovers, and now Sunderland.

He's worked with hundreds, if not thousands of players during his time in the dugout and Mowbray has a lot of respect for those who come through the Manchester United academy.

He continued:

"I think the game is littered with Manchester United players who came through their system, through their Academy system, and generally what you know is you get grounded, talented footballers who know what to do with the football. They know how to deal with the ball.

"When I’m looking for players, I always look to see what their background is, where they were brought up and the core values of what their football brain is about. You never really fall short with Manchester United players, whether they made it at first-team level or not as, generally, they’ve all been brought up properly.”

Sunderland certainly need additions this summer. They're losing the likes of Diallo and Joe Gelhardt whose loan spells have come to an end and with a lengthy injury list going onto the pre-season, summer additions are much-needed.

We could yet see another United youngster follow in Diallo's footsteps next season, and building a good relationship with such a huge club can only be a benefit for Sunderland.

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