One of the great wonders of this season so far for Newcastle United fans is why Bazoumana Toure has received just one singular minute of Premier League football.
Not only has he played second fiddle to Harvey Barnes when it comes to starts to this point, which does make sense we must admit, but he hasn't even been given a sniff, even when the game appeared ready for some direct, speedy legs to take the game on.
Toure's biggest stint on the pitch came in Newcastle's last Carabao Cup game against Millwall, in which he played one half and grabbing a goal before being substituted.
Bedding him in slowly isn't necessarily a bad thing, but it has raised questions about when we will see him actually competing with Barnes for meaningful chances to shine.
And that is exactly why tomorrow's game against Millwall could be so important.
Toure needs to prove he's ready
Of course, we don't see everything that happens at training on a day to day basis like Matthias Jaissle does, so there is clearly something the German is seeing that is preventing him from believing Toure is ready.
Whether that be a lack of match fitness, not recovering fully from the preseason knock he took to his shoulder or something more intricately tactical - we might not ever really know - but Millwall marks a chance for Toure to put any doubts his gaffer might have to bed.
There are no illusions as to whether it will be a difficult game, away at The Den is never a favoured fixture for anybody. It is likely to be one where the Magpies need a moment of quality to unlock a door whilst also having to be on point to not let the plucky underdogs get the upper hand under a bout of complacency.
Toure, if he starts, will likely be central to both of those things.
If it is something tactical that Jaissle is seeing, which the 20-year-old's showing against West Brom would suggest given him and Hall struggled to connect, the Carabao Cup third round fixture is the perfect opportunity to prove that he does have what it takes at present to play in that high-responsibility system, under a bit less pressure than a Premier League game would create.
On the opposing side, Toure could be the man to unlock the door against what will most plausibly be a low block in Millwall. The Ivory Coast international came to Tyneside with one of the most potent dribbling records in Europe and a real penchant for taking on his man and creating chances, meaning he could be the subject tasked with providing the trickery to break down the hosts structure.
Minutes in the legs... hopefully
At the very least, though, I really do hope he just gets a chance for some substantial minutes, similarly to Aladji Bamba.
This sort of game is the perfect chance to take a bit of pressure of those young talents to be perfect and let them go an express themselves whilst building up confidence.
It can't be underestimated how much of an impact both the sporting and cultural change of moving to a new country at such an age can have on a young player.
The only way to combat that is to nurture them and allow those minutes to slowly build up when ready, something which I have no doubts Matthias Jaissle will understand exactly how to navigate - hence why Toure probably hasn't played much so far.
It's only right for us as fans to be impatient, we want to see those big money summer signings come good and it does feels as though Toure has all the attributes to do exactly that, and perhaps tomorrow night is the start of that journey for wor Baz.
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