Commentator I was watching was laughing while describing how comfortable he is with the ball. I'm convinced that if we had any other of our midfielders play there we would have given away way more chances.
Also he's sneaky good defensively as well, many interceptions this first half. Even won a header or two.
His sideways passes are fine if he remains unpressable. We have like 5 players ahead of him who are supposed to do the attacking. It's hard to ask a DM to come help the CBs and then provide assists on top of it.
Great defensive effort. He worked and fought really hard off the ball. It's amazing how he doesn't seem to have more than a 50 yard pass in him but his ability to hold the ball and find a teammate so close to our goal makes a big difference to how the team can play. No more bombing it down the pitch in hope. With him we can always play out from the back.