Manchester United boss Erik ten Hag has a £37m decision to make in January

A host of Manchester United players have been sent out on loan by Erik ten Hag this season, whether it be to help them develop or to quench their thirst for game-time.

Unfortunately, a number of them are enduring rough spells right now. Eric Bailly suffered an injury at Marseille after a mixed start, while Alex Telles’ Sevilla are suffering in La Liga. Another player not experiencing the dream spell away is Amad, albeit for different reasons.

Loan club Sunderland are sitting pretty in seventh in the Championship table but 20-year-old Amad is only being used for cameo appearances. Having failed to start any games for the Black Cats so far, he was given his longest run out of 30 minutes in Saturday’s goalless draw with Preston.

READ MORE: Manchester United loanee Amad backed to start delivering by Sunderland boss

It takes his total playing time to just 96 minutes for the season. The Ivorian has failed to register a goal or an assist that would change manager Tony Mowbray’s mind when it comes to selection.

The good news is that he is still getting a run-out despite a change at the helm, with Alex Neil departing for Stoke last month. But it’s not the start he had hoped for. He found himself in a similar situation during his six-month loan spell at Rangers last season.

Amad failed to get into Giovanni van Bronckhorst’s team on a regular basis and did not play a single minute in their journey to the Europa League final. He was eventually given more playing time towards the end of the domestic campaign, starting the Scottish Cup final win.

However, his three-goal return was far from idyllic. And now more concern has been cast over the attacker given his hardships so far at the Stadium of Light.

It marks a stark drop off from