So does he upfront where he does not add much to our general play except heading long balls
He has fantastic chest control which he can use at any time up front, but almost never in central midfield as he has to vacate his position and go hang out near the strikers.
He has the strength to hold onto the ball under pressure from physical CBs and just needs to find a square or backwards pass from there to put a teammate into a good position, which is much more suited to his passing range as it generally wont matter if he slightly underhits a pass and he doesnt need to thread the needle with accuracy either.
And this season he's always been a threat when we can get decent balls into the box, he's popped up with some important goals. Some have definitely been from set pieces, but he's less of a liability in the meantime when he's doing a basic target man job up front.
There are obviously limitations to what he can do up front, hes not going to be very good running the channels or threatening runs in behind the defence. Someone else will have to do those things, but you generally wouldnt want him to be doing that anyway as you'd want him making himself available in the middle when you have the ball, not on the wing.
I actually wonder if he might be the best option when we play Wilson up front. Let him shoulder the target man responsibilities and look for flicks to set Wilson free.
Just like Andy Carrol, you can question how good the football is to watch but you cant question whether its effective.