It says that he's a top CB for his age and worth developing. I mean, it hardly would make sense to get a CB the same age but less talented and develop him.
We brought Evans through, I think we can bring McNair though.
That said, surely he's around for the League Cup, FA Cup, relegation teams and emergency cover. In that capacity I think he's doing fine.
Of course I do notice the gulf of difference when Smalling goes out and Paddy goes in.
And I'm red tinted when it comes to the youth team, by my own admission.
Is he a top CB for his age?
John Stones is only 1 year older, i'd say he's a top CB.
Laporte is only 1 year older. Varane is 2 years older. Marquinhos is only 1 year older.
McNair hasn't showed anything close to the level of those guys, and i'd say they are the best young CB's in Europe right now.
Even comparing him to Vidic isn't really worthwhile as he's not a similar style defender to Vidic.
Ferdinand at his age was also a much better talent. Wes Brown at McNair's age was a much better talent.
He's fine for a squad level player definitely, but I haven't seen anything to suggest he'll be amongst the top defenders in the country, I could be wrong though.