Quote from: Axl Rose on September 25, 2020, 02:28:56 PMGoing to be a star is Jacob!Tell you what, I’ve seen enough promising kids play and look like deer in headlights.This lad looks very comfortable. Very impressed so far, and he should definitely be on the bench for the Fulham game.
Going to be a star is Jacob!
I think he's at the level now where we keep him whoever we bring in this season. He needs to be on the bench every game, and be a rotational player. Getting 20-30 minutes for us, training and playing under Smith in this system, I feel would be far more valuable for him than being kicked up in the air in the Championship. The confidence and calmness on the ball is the thing that really marks him out as a player with real quality. There's an intangible way that he moves with the ball, and the way the rest of the established first teamers trust him with it, that is reminiscent of the way the seniors trusted Grealish, and enough to convince me that he has something to offer to us this season.
The dressing room sounds like a really positive place to be right now, great to hear that Jacob was given a round of applause by the team after the game for playing in his first Premier League game.
We need to learn our lesson from the mistake we've made in recent years where we keep hold of a player too long and in doing so we forsake their development. If he can genuinely make a place in the team his own, then keep him. If he's only going to be getting the odd few minutes here and there, his development will benefit much more from playing regular first team football somewhere. Then, in that case, we can make him a regular for us next season when he's 20, filled out more and used to regular senior football.
He looks very promising but think he still needs to bulk up.
Agreed. Our three best prospects (Ramsey, Bridge and Archer) would all benefit from a loan spell at a lower league club. Worked out well for Grealish at Notts County.