Genuine question; why not?
I have been pondering about it. As soon as I posted it I started to think about and can't get my head around it. One problem is obviously that I've seen to little from him. So it's mostly based on a hunch, I will now try to logically attack that hunch but I suspect I will fall back in the end on "well, it's just a hunch".
He is erratic and extremely fast, things I look for and rate highly for players out wide. Not really CM (or mezzela in this case).
He's got good technique but his first touch is a bit slower, which you don't have time for if you move in the inner corridors.
In the last few games he didn't seem to move around much without the ball. There could be a large number of reasons for that but someone that has played out wide his entire career is accustomed to always having space. You don't need to chase it (unless you're the Müller type). A mezzela chases pockets since there rarely is none. Now I don't know his story so maybe he used to be a CM previously, then my point is mute.
His shooting is quite poor but his crossing is decent. This could be a potential problem for us when we break down teams. You want to have a few that can potentially fire it home from a distance. But we lack that skill in our squad, so I'd rather take what I can get. Like, Miretti has a potentially better shot so I'd rather toss him in, kind of. But this is of course not an Iling problem but a squad issue (among many).
His passing hasn't struck me before. Seems like more like to person that open spaces through dribbling rather than passes (which I value a lot, so it's not a critique). Someone who has seen him more should be able to correct me.
I like is his aggressiveness and that he is "big". His reading of the game and all of those aspects is too hard to make sense of someone who only played a few minutes as a wingback. If they are there, great, if not then that would be problematic for a CM/mezzela. Not so much for a winger.
I think all of these points could be easily refuted by someone who has seen him more. I've only seen highlights and the few minutes with the senior team. I like him a lot, he is very raw but has characteristics we lack, especially with Chiesa out. Well, I raise my hands and say I don't know. It's just a gut feeling. From what I've seen I think he would be more useful for us as a winger but if he can cope in the middle I'll very happy.
I should also add that I saw some highlights now, where his first touch looked really good. So maybe it was just nerves or I paid attention at the wrong time when I saw him.
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