Amad Diallo may have edge on Alejandro Garnacho, Marcus Rashford under Amorim

Welcome to The Radar, a Sky Sports column where Nick Wright uses a mix of data and opinion to shed light on need-to-know stories from across the Premier League. This week:

🔴 Amad: lower profile but higher value? 🚜 Delap's difference-making finish 💨 Jones' striking top speed

Amad can shine under Amorim

Ruben Amorim's tactical approach has been discussed ahead of his opening game at Manchester United, but when asked to define his philosophy in his first interview as head coach, he preferred to emphasize the overarching importance of other factors.

“The team is the most important thing for me,” he said. “When you work as a team, the talent comes into its own individually.” Amorim also used the word “character” repeatedly. He further referred to “the way we fight” and even specified the need for “walking back.”

His comments were a clue to which players may or may not be the most valuable to him, especially in attack, where the 39-year-old inherits a number of wide forwards vying for what could be a lonely spot in the team, assuming Bruno Fernandes occupies the other.

Alejandro Garnacho and Marcus Rashford were of course Erik ten Hag's wide options. They are groundbreaking talents at their best. But that also applies to Amad Diallo. Crucially, he is also a team player who is amenable to the tougher demands of the game.

The comparison in their off-the-ball work is stark. Amad presses with greater intensity than Garnacho or Rashford. Premier League tracking data shows he is covering significantly more ground. He is also a much more productive tackler; his average of three per 90 minutes ranks second among Premier League strikers this season.

“The second goal had everything that Amad Diallo is for me,” said interim boss Ruud van Nistelrooy after he shone in the win over PAOK. “He fought to take the ball from the defender, pushed to get the shot and had the quality to curl the ball around the goalkeeper.”

Amad's double in that match took him to five in all competitions for Manchester United. Although his playing opportunities have been relatively limited over the past two seasons, the rate at which he produces goals or assists puts him second only to Fernandes.

His quality as a striker and as a goalscorer – Amad creates twice as much as Garnacho or Rashford – should add to his appeal to Amorim, whose inside forwards at Sporting, Trincao and Pedro Goncalves have been the main sources of creativity in his team. .

That duo blossomed under Amorim, a coach with a reputation for building stars, and Amad is an equally malleable young talent. His attitude and work ethic – “He is constantly focused on learning and getting better,” Van Nistelrooy added after the PAOK match – could even make him an option at full-back.

Wherever he plays, however, Amad is unlikely to have any difficulty living up to the expectations already set by his new manager. If the team is more important than individuals, he seems well positioned to thrive.

Clinical delay makes the difference

Manchester United will have to be wary of a former Manchester City player at Portman Road on Super Sunday. Liam Delap goes into the match having scored his sixth Premier League goal of the season in Ipswich's 2-1 win over Tottenham before the international break.

His latest was about as simple as it gets, with Delap only having to hit a deflected cross into an empty net from point-blank range at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium. But his goalscoring form is largely down to good finishing.

Like his former teammate Erling Haaland, a striker he has studied in detail, Delap shows an invaluable talent for converting low-quality chances into goals through the quality of his shots.

This is reflected in the extent to which he exceeds his expected targets. Delap scored six times from an xG of just 2.4. But a statistic called expected goals on goal, or xGOT, is even more instructive when it comes to evaluating a player's finishing.

Simply put, xG measures the quality of an accidental pre-shot, while xGOT measures this post-shot, taking into account where the shot was aimed and where it came from. Shots sent to the corners of the net have a greater chance of beating the goalkeeper.

The quality of Delap's execution is reflected in the data surrounding xGOT. According to Opta, he has the second-highest positive difference between xG and xGOT in the Premier League this season, highlighting his ability to maximize low-value opportunities.

There are striking examples of his goals.

In Ipswich's 4-3 defeat to Brentford last month, his deft, near-post tap from a Leif Davis cross for Ipswich's third goal turned a chance worth 0.14 xG into a shot worth 0 .60 xGOT.

In the 2-2 draw against Aston Villa in September, he scored his second with a brilliant diagonal finish off Emiliano Martinez, converting a 0.29 xG chance into a shot worth 0.73 xGOT.

The numbers reflect his value to Ipswich, as a striker capable of creating something out of nothing. They should serve as a warning for Sunday's opponent Manchester United.

Jones' deceptive pace

Liverpool's Curtis Jones takes on Southampton on Super Sunday after a productive international break in which he took his club form to the international stage, scoring on his England bow in the win over Greece and then retaining his place against Ireland.

His ingenious quick finish against Greece was the highlight, but Jones demonstrated his full repertoire in the two matches, with his technical class clearly evident as he completed 96 percent of his passes while also working diligently without the ball.

These qualities have long been evident at Liverpool, but Arne Slot feels he has taken a “step up” this season and his comment came to mind when he saw the Premier League tracking data showing Jones as the second has clocked the highest top speed among Liverpool players.

His pace has never been considered a strength, even though he has always stood out for his speed of thinking, but the numbers don't lie. Jones' top speed of 34.77 km/h places him only behind Luis Diaz and just ahead of Mohamed Salah among Liverpool players. He is ranked 30th among the 459 Premier League players in total.

Live radar: what's on Sky this weekend?

Manchester City take on Tottenham on Saturday Night Football, live on Sky Sports Premier League from 5pm ahead of the 5.30pm kick-off.

On Super Sunday, Southampton host Liverpool, live on Sky Sports Premier League from 1pm with kick-off at 2pm. That will be followed by Ruben Amorim's first game as Manchester United boss against Ipswich Town at 4.30pm.

Don't miss Monday Night Football as Newcastle host West Ham, with coverage from 6pm on the Sky Sports Premier League ahead of the 8pm kick-off.

Read the previous Radar column

Chelsea's Moises Caicedo's excellent form was the focus of the final column before the international break, which also highlighted Gabriel Martinelli's inconsistency for Arsenal.