It’s why he needed this move. You might argue he was playing against superior technical players at U21 when playing U21 Spain or U21 Portugal but Kilmarnock players will be a lot more physical than 18 year old U21’s and a lot more experienced and street wise.
I always thought last season his issue was physical. He couldn’t deal with playing back to goal, accelerating in tight space or simple shoulder barges. He looked like a boy, a very talent boy but in a men’s league.
Constantly playing against men and doing lots of gym work to improve core strength is the key. His brain and technique has always looked excellent and that is the more important if you want to be elite but he needs to get to premier league physical level which he isn’t yet.
Completely agree on the physical aspect. He's clearly bulked up, is more willing to get stuck in and looks at home in the men's game now. He needed a season in a physical league and consistent gametime to help with that.
However, with him I think his decision-making also needed (and still needs) a lot of work. In the youth leagues he was so good he could do it all by himself and didn't need to rely on his teammates, and stepping up to the men's game I think he looked a little lost at first.
Watching his highlights at Rangers he's still not quite there. He often takes too long to release the ball, gets pick-pocketed, tries a shot when he doesn't have space, etc. But with more gametime he's improving - and against Kilmarnock it all came together and he looked absolutely top class.
Mikey's got all the technique in the world and a lot of creativity, but by PL standards he's very slow for an attacking player. I think he's gonna need to get that decision-making consistent and adapt to the intensity and speed of the PL, but if he can do that he could be a seriously top player.
I think the next step for him should be a faster, more intense league. I think a Championship loan would be good for him as it's so relentless and the standard is much more consistent than the SPL, which basically has a bunch of League 1, League 2 at the bottom end.
Despite all the hype, I think he's still not quite PL-ready yet and I think we'll harm his development if we try to integrate him too soon. He's only 18 so another year on loan is absolutely fine given his age. No need to force it yet.