Wayne Rooney should use Man Utd connection to rival Sunderland in ambitious Birmingham transfer: Opinion | OneFootball

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Wayne Rooney has taken charge of just one Birmingham City game, but already there has been talk about what January holds for the club.

Blues decided to bring in Rooney last week, as the club’s owners felt he could help raise the profile of the football club.

So all eyes will be on Birmingham now, as the club has made a decision that has caused a lot of unhappiness in the football world.

However, Rooney won’t let that bother him, as he will be eager to prove that the club made the right decision in appointing him as manager.

As whenever a manager comes in midway through a season, they are taking over a squad that they haven't built. So, already, there has been talk about which players Rooney may want to add in January, and while he hasn’t been mentioned yet, the bBlues chief may be wise in using his Manchester United connections to go after Amad Diallo.

Diallo had an excellent campaign last season, as he was a main part of Sunderland’s success in reaching the Championship play-offs.

So, the winger returned to Man United in the summer, with his future very much up in the air.

Diallo was part of Man United’s squad that travelled to the USA, and during the few games he played, he seemingly impressed Erik ten Hag.

However, the Ivory Coast international picked up an injury against Arsenal and has since been on the sidelines.

That meant Diallo, who was potentially leaving Old Trafford in the summer, was put on hold and has remained at the club as he recovers from his knee injury.

The winger isn’t meant to be far away now from returning, but with competition high at Man United and January not that far away, there has been speculation that he could leave on loan once January comes around.

It has been recently reported that Sunderland are keen on signing the 21-year-old once again, while TEAMtalk have reported that Man United are willing to loan Diallo out.

So, with this news coming out, Rooney may be wise to return to his old club and try to agree a deal for Diallo.

Why should Birmingham City join Sunderland in the race for Amad Diallo?

As mentioned, Diallo spent last season on loan at Sunderland, and it seemed likely that the 21-year-old would have been sent out on loan during the summer transfer window if it wasn’t for his injury.

Diallo is highly rated at Old Trafford, but given that players like Antony, Facundo Pellistri, Alejandro Garnacho, and Marcus Rashford are ahead of him, he has been spending time on loan at other clubs.

The winger is now closing in on his return, and while he could feature for the Red Devils between now and January, it seems that come the new year, he could be shipped out on loan once again.

This will put several Championship clubs on high alert, as he was an exceptional player for the Black Cats last season.

He played 39 times for Sunderland in the Championship, during which he scored 14 goals and recorded three assists.

But there were other aspects of his game that made him stand out. He averaged 1.9 shots per game as well as 1.9 dribbles, which is a big part of his game. His tricky play also saw him get fouled on average 1.4 times.

He was involved in much of Sunderland’s build-up, as he averaged 36 passes, of which 86 were successful and led to a key pass every game, as per WhoScored.com. So, as stated, if he were to become available in January, it could put a lot of Championship clubs on high alert, particularly Birmingham.

Adding a player like Diallo could really take the Blues’ attack to the next level, and with him on one side and Siriki Dembele on the other, it could be a really exciting forward line under Rooney and one that could boost their promotion hopes.