Manchester United legend Paul Parker believes Amad Diallo‘s loan spell at Rangers last season could prove to be a formative moment in the young winger’s career.

The Ivorian really struggled to establish himself at Ibrox but he has since gone on to thrive at Sunderland and Parker believes the tough lessons he learned in Scotland should hold him in good stead:

“He had an extremely difficult time at Rangers because it’s a completely different way of playing football in Scotland. It was a really bad idea for him to ever go to Rangers just because his agent wanted him to play for a big club.”

“But I still think the stay has benefited him mentally and that’s maybe why he’s playing so well for Sunderland. Every time he descends into a black hole in the future, he just has to think about how awful it was at Rangers. It was a good lesson.”

While Parker’s description of Amad’s time with the Light Blues is a tad harsh, in hindsight, the loan didn’t really work out for any of the parties involved. Quite simply, the teenager was not ready to play for the Gers when he moved to Glasgow and he wasn’t afforded the first team opportunities as a result.

Considering that he did cost United a staggering £37m, it was still surprising that he found the experience so tough. Based on his performances for Sunderland, though, it appears he did gain something from the loan spell.