His development over the last 12-18 months has been amazing.
I've never doubted his quality as a defender. He's great in the air and strong in the tackle, and I'll never forget how much he dug in deep away vs. Atletico in the Champions League last season. But his ability with the ball was always a bit suspect. He was always great as an option off the bench when we were under pressure, but I felt like whenever he started games he slowed us down as a team. He was always dithering about at the back, nervous, uncertain of where to pass it. I wanted to like him more because of that video of him playing the piano, which was really sweet, but I didn't see any signs that he would improve enough to hold down a place.
Fast forward 12 months and he's the only defender with a guaranteed starting spot. He's so, so much better with the ball now, way more decisive and speedy with his passing, happy to play at CB, LB, and even drop into the middle, has a great relationship with Jack down the left. And I've noticed in recent weeks that he's not afraid to get forward, which was the one thing left that was holding him back. At Bristol in the week he got forward to play a part in creating the second goal, he was overlapping on a few occasions against Newcastle today, and in the second half he would have been in behind if Jack had just found that reverse ball.
Much improved. A great signing.
