People think that Academy and first team are entirely different worlds. They are not, the Academy is every bit as competitive (especially nowadays with young players like Mbappe getting to the top) and competes for every single talented youngster worldwide - with the exception of Brazilians who may be harder to get to but are starting to be seen at younger ages. The incentives are too strong for us to not do this. The reason our Academy is one of the best (the best?) in the world is because a lot of talented players are recruited to it, face stiff competition in it and are educated at the highest level. It is not by accident that supremely skilled players like Pogba, Rashford, Morrison and now Greenwood and Gomes are coming through the Academy. It is because they have survived the cauldron of the Academy and risen to the very top.
Once in a while, an unheralded player like James comes through who has an attribute, searing pace for James, that makes him stand out where he didn't before at the Academy level. The problem is, though, that while he has that and appears to have the desire, he has not been educated and tested like the players in our Academy. As a result, he will appear to be a kick and rush merchant and, at 21, does not have the time to develop technique. We can use him as that but he can't compete with our blue-chip players above.
Gomes now only has 2 question marks, 1) can his body keep up in the PL? and 2) does he have the mentality to succeed? His body may be a positive rather than a negative with the greater protection that players now have and we can never know about mentality until it is tested. So, test him Ole, and test him now. He is ready.