AMAD DIALLO will be remaining with Sunderland until the end of the season after the clause in his loan deal enabling Manchester United to recall him to Old Trafford expired.

Amad joined the Black Cats on loan in the summer, and has established himself as one of the club’s key performers under Tony Mowbray.

His impressive performances have not gone unnoticed amongst the Manchester United hierarchy, and there were fears Erik ten Hag might have opted to recall Amad in order to add him to his own first-team squad for the second half of the campaign.

Sunderland were powerless to prevent Ellis Simms returning to Goodison Park when Everton recalled him from his loan deal on Wearside at the start of this month.

However, in order for Manchester United to recall Amad, they had to trigger the clause in his loan agreement by a certain date, and it is understood that date has now passed.

As a result, the Ivory Coast international, who scored the second goal in today’s 2-0 Wear-Tees derby win over Middlesbrough, will be remaining with Sunderland for the remainder of the campaign.

Manchester United’s decision to allow him to remain at the Stadium of Light is a major boost to Mowbray, who has played a pivotal role in the 20-year-old’s development over the course of the last few months.

The Black Cats boss has been impressed with Amad’s recent performances, and is confident the youngster is capable of making a major impression at Manchester United in the future.

Mowbray said: “I had a long chat with Les Parry (Manchester United’s elite player performance manager) about him this week, I think he's got the talent to play for Man Utd.

“The question is whether he's got the personality to play there and break through that ceiling. He had a disappointing loan at Rangers last year but I couldn't pick a team without him right now.

“The ball sticks to his foot, he sees every pass and works really hard. We've worked hard on getting him to shoot more regularly, and so I can see his belief and his personality growing.

“The hope is he goes back to Man Utd, does what he does and finds himself around their team. He'll get opportunities I bet in pre-season and then it's down to him.

“I've managed players like Harvey Elliott at Blackburn - he's a similar talent, plays with his head up.

“The ball is so easy for Amad, he doesn't have to think because he can just kill it dead and he sees the pass straight away. It's unbelievable how clever he is with the football. The talent will never be a problem for Amad. I'll be really interested to see how he goes.”