One of Sunderland's former loan stars would love a return to the Stadium of Light, if he were to leave his current club, according to reports.

Amad Diallo was a fan-favourite at the Black Cats and was recently crowned the PFA Fans’ Championship Player of the Year following a stellar season on Wearside.

Now, trusted Sunderland reporter Michael Graham responded to a fan on Twitter X to confirm Diallo’s preferred destination.

The 21-year-old winger joined Manchester United from Serie A side Atalanta at the start of 2021 for a reported €21m (£19m) with the deal with a potential €20m (£18m) in add-ons according to The Athletic.

However, Diallo failed to break into the Red Devils’ first-team, playing just nine times in all competitions in his first year at Old Trafford according to Transfermarkt.

United loaned the Ivory Coast international to Scottish giants Rangers for the remainder of the 2021/22 season to give the Ivorian more exposure to first-team football. He played 10 times in the Scottish Premiership for the Gers registering three goals to his name.

The following season Diallo joined recently promoted Sunderland in the Championship, where he formed a great connection with the Black Cats’ boss Tony Mowbray.

And the north-east giants were linked with a move for their former loan sensation during the off-season, but reports quickly downplayed that idea with United keen to seal a 'more lucrative' deal if they were to loan him out.

Mowbray has spoken in great admiration about Diallo in the past, which suggests he would be open to working with the Manchester United wonderkid once again.

What has Mowbray said about Diallo?

Speaking after his side's 2-1 win over Birmingham in April, Mowbray said:

"Are you happy just to be a Manchester United player and play six sub appearances and two starts over a 60-game season for them? Or would you want to go and play?

"So are they going to sell him, and if they do they will want to recoup their money which was reportedly €40m or whatever it was? I don't know. I think the reality is that he won't be coming here, unless they think he is going to be one helluva player and he needs another year out playing, and he enjoys it at Sunderland so he can stay there," before further adding:

"But let's hope he is playing for Sunderland next year and banging in the goals. If we did sneak into [the Premier League], there is a much better chance that he could come back."

Under Mowbray, Diallo managed to put the ball in the back of the net 13 times in the Championship as Sunderland finished sixth in the league, securing them a place in the play-offs. Sunderland failed to make it to the Championship play-off final as Luton won 3-2 on aggregate despite Diallo scoring from distance in the first leg.

The 5 foot 8 "absolute wizard" – in the words of reporter James Copley – clearly still shares a deep admiration for Sunderland.

Following the Black Cats’ 5-0 thrashing of Southampton last week, Diallo responded to the full-time result on Twitter X with a mind-blown starstruck emoji, suggesting he was very impressed with how his former teammates played.

The £7m-rated dynamo was left needing stretchers after picking up a leg injury against Arsenal in pre-season for United.

However, Diallo is expected to make a return to full fitness soon, which means he should be able to move to Sunderland if the option is on the table come January.

There is no denying that the former loan sensation would be welcomed back with open arms considering he ended the 2022/23 campaign as the Black Cats' third-best performer in the Championship with an average WhoScored rating of 7.06, having produced 14 goals and three assists in 39 appearances.