There were 886 days between Amad's third and fourth starts for Manchester United but three months after his Old Trafford career looked to be petering out, he could be about to secure one of the few places up for grabs in the starting XI at the start of this season.

If Alejandro Garnacho and Rasmus Hojlund have two of the front three roles locked down come the start of competitive action, then the third is up for grabs.

On the evidence of this summer, it is Amad who must be in prime position at the moment to complete that triumvirate.

Jadon Sancho's return from exile has put his name into the equation, but this always looked to be a battle between Amad, Antony and Marcus Rashford.

Despite being back at Carrington for the last two weeks Antony is yet to kick a ball in a friendly, while Rashford had a mundane opening against Rosenborg and then missed the trip to Edinburgh.

Saturday's game was Amad's first of the summer and the Rangers support inside Murrayfield would have been perplexed at seeing the 22-year-old tear them apart in the first half.

He looked like a young boy out of his depth in a six-month loan spell at Ibrox in 2022 but has suddenly found some momentum and confidence to resurrect his United career.

The right-winger was bright in starting the final three Premier League games of last season and was excellent on Saturday, causing no end of problems and taking his goal well.

He should have had an assist as well in creating good chances for Ethan Wheatley and Sancho.

Ten Hag praised Amad's versatility post-match and he did well for Sunderland as a false nine and No.

10, so he offers flexibility, but the spot on the right is available at Old Trafford after Antony lost the support of his manager towards the end of last season.

"As you say, he made a very good progression last season," Ten Hag said of Amad at the weekend.

"The past two seasons he was on loan and then he was planned to play a role but he had a very bad injury in pre-season that dropped him a little bit back.

But in the last games of the season he showed his assets.

This season has to become his season.

"That suggests his future is now guaranteed when it looked anything but back in April.

Then he appeared a prime candidate to be sold, that PS37m fee paid to Atalanta in 2020 looking ever more perplexing.

Now, the decision to be made is over how much faith the club show in him.

He has a year remaining on the contract he signed when moving to the club, while United also have the option to extend it by another year.

Ineos have so far been reluctant to make calls on new contracts and Amad's situation is only likely to be reviewed towards the end of the window, or even after it has closed.

If he continues to dazzle in pre-season then a new, long-term deal must surely be considered.

That could spell bad news for at least one of Sancho, Antony or Rashford.

Ten Hag has demanded depth to his squad this season but five senior wingers, as well as two central attacking options in Hojlund and Joshua Zirkzee looks excessive.

It's also the case that Antony and Rashford have something to prove.

The Brazilian has never looked like justifying his PS85m price tag and his second season at the club was a disaster.

United would consider cutting their losses but interest in him is unlikely after last season.

Rashford also had a disappointing campaign, going from 30 goals in 2022/23 to just eight amid a couple of off-pitch issues that attracted the wrath of Ten Hag.

There is no expectation he will leave the club but his future is far from secure and another below-par season could become an issue, especially as the five-year deal he signed a year ago makes him one of the club's highest earners.

That salary looked unjustified last season and in the wake of that renewal, you can understand the caution that now exists around contracts.

Amad is one of several that will come under the microscope once this window comes to an end, but right now he looks like he is worth investing in.

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