Ryan Yates, rather unwittingly, finds himself at the centre of another debate at Nottingham Forest.
This is not the first time that a home-grown talent has become a hot topic of discussion.
It probably won’t be the last.
A 0-0 draw with Queens Park Rangers on Saturday has Yates back at the forefront of fans’ thoughts.
Questions have been asked of the 22-year-old for some time.
What is his best role?
Would he benefit from another loan move?
Does he have a long-term future at the City Ground?
Another entry has been added to that list.
Supporters are now wondering why Yates was the first man Sabri Lamouchi turned to when looking to his bench for assistance against QPR.
As the Reds boss glanced in that direction, Joao Carvalho, Alex Mighten and Tyler Walker will have caught his eye.
With the deadlock needing to be broken on home soil, Forest were looking for a spark.
Impact
(Photo by Jon Hobley/MI News/NurPhoto via Getty Images)
Added creativity appeared to be the order of the day.
Mighten and Carvalho eventually made it on to the field.
They were given 19 and 12 minutes respectively.
A Portuguese playmaker was the last roll of the dice.
Yates was given half-an-hour to impact proceedings in the middle of the park.
He was, however, introduced in place of Sammy Ameobi.
Now, an enigmatic winger can amaze and frustrate in equal measure.
He had looked lively enough against the Rs and was far from the only one to be banging his head against a brick wall.
Once the decision was taken that Ameobi’s number was up, a like-for-like replacement would have been expected.
Mighten ticked the relevant boxes when it comes to widemen.
The dice could have been rolled by throwing Walker on up top to partner Grabban.
Those options were overlooked in favour of adding Yates to the engine room.
Lamouchi had tinkered with his plans slightly at kick-off, with Samba Sow ruled out once again.
Natural
Rather than having two energetic water carriers in the starting XI, Forest lined up with Tiago Silva operating a little deeper alongside Ben Watson.
Not the ideal post for a Portuguese playmaker.
Introducing Yates did allow Silva to be advanced into a more natural playmaking role.
The Reds were, however, dictating proceedings at the hour mark.
Ambition was required to turn one point into three.
Lamouchi was perhaps a little conservative in his thinking.
The Frenchman has done more than enough this season to earn the trust of the Reds faithful and knows his players and system better than anyone.
Yates’ introduction has, however, sparked uncomfortable questions.
Whatever your opinion of the hard-working academy graduate, there does appear to be a prominent role for him in the short-term plans being pieced together.
He has, however, always been more of an insurance policy than an assurance one.
When looking to keep things tight and see a game out, then Yates is definitely the right man for the job.
On the flip side of that coin, he probably isn’t the go-to option when inspiration is being sought.