NOBODY knows what, or how, his development is (or isn't) going…I have said from day 1 I believe he will absolutely be a great player in the hole but not this season as we have not yet developed a way of stretching the pitch (and probably won't until we get Rose/speedy LB)…I've said for ages that it would be tough on the kid to shove him in there right now, and that we'd be better off playing Sig in the hole and having Lamela come in from a wide position. I'd like to see Townsend or Lennon on the left and Lamela on the right…IF he was more confident shooting, I'd have him on the left…but again, I'm sure he's getting a slow phase-in due to things we cannot possibly know…he will absolutely have a role to play in the second-half of the season.
The other interesting thing to ponder is how much of a Baldini vs AVB signing he is? Baldini is a DoF. I wonder if the thought (long-term) is that if AVB does move on at the end of the season/following season, the incoming will have a ready-made precocious class talent to work with?