Locatelli is playing a position that requires a lot of experience. He's only 20 years old.
When Pirlo came to Milan, he was 22, and was considered a player who hadn't cashed in on his potential. Kinda like Saponara. Great talent, but just not all the way there.
Look at what Locatelli has been able to do, already, at his age. Young players have ups and downs. Especially young players at clubs that are going through 3 different owners in 3 years, and with a club that is so big that it has the pressure of a big club, but without the talent to make sure that a young player can succeed.
Last year people said Calabria was garbage. Now people can see, oh, wow, he has talent, we should be patient.
Cutrone is another talented kid. But I bet if he doesn't continue his form from last season, which is a possibility because he is a kid, people will be like "nah, no talent, get him out."
Which, by the way, were the same things that were said about Darmian. About Verdi. About Cristante (when he was doing nothing at Benfica--people laughed at him). How useful would those players be for us right now?