Man Utd star sends blunt two-word message to January exit report

Manchester United winger Amad Diallo has poured cold water on reports that he will join up with the Ivory Coast squad for their Africa Cup of Nations campaign later this month.

The 21-year-old made his first appearance of the season on Saturday as United lost 2-1 at Nottingham Forest. Having started on the bench at the City Ground, he replaced Antony on 54 minutes and showed plenty of promise on the right-wing.

There was concern on Tuesday amid a report from Sky Sports that Amad would join up with the Ivory Coast squad for the upcoming AFCON tournament. But the Reds winger was quick to alley fears, responding to a fan who reposted the claim on X, formerly Twitter.

In response, amad simply said: "Not true!"

Amad was initially left out of the Jean-Louis Gasset's 27-man squad, which was announced last week, and is expected to remain at United to continue getting back to full fitness. The former Atalanta man had not played a single minute of competitive football all season before the weekend.

The likely exit of Jadon Sancho this month could open up a space in Ten Hag's squad for Amad, who excelled on loan at Championship side Sunderland last season. He registered an impressive 14 goals and three assists for the Black Cats and had earned his chance to impress Ten Hag in the summer.

But a cruel injury suffered just 10 minutes into his appearance during the pre-season friendly against Arsenal was a major blow. Amad left the MetLife Stadium on crutches that day and his absence has lasted almost five months.

United will lose summer signings Andre Onana and Sofyan Amrabat, representing Cameroon and Morocco respectively, to AFCON. The tournament runs from January 13 to February 11 and progression to the final could see players miss four Premier League games plus two potential rounds of the FA Cup.