He certainly was last season and the season before - became, thanks to some high-energy, action packed displays one of our biggest assets, valued by myself (and others) in the £50M bracket going by today's insane price tags.
But this season Prince has been without doubt the biggest disappointment in the squad. His limitations have been exposed, laid bare for all to see; with Ibra and quality players in midfield he was able to play to his strengths and they got the best out of him. Remove that level of player and suddenly Prince looks like a Pauper.
Allegri seems bewildered as to what to do with him: he lacks pace so he's not a winger. He lacks dribbling skill or creative vision so isn't a trequartista. Neither is he an AM or deep-lying playmaker, and he isn't reliable up front enough to be a striker.
Yet our beleaguered manager yesterday put him behind Pazzini and SES and seemed to instruct him to basically do what he wanted. Left wing, right wing, CM, even DM at times. Hell he was even spotted in our own box now and then.
The problem with Prince is he is a less dynamic and versatile version of a young Frank Lampard. A circle to box attacker who keeps the passes simple then bursts into the box to score a goal now and then. He is capable of remarkable moments of quality - that goal V Barca was stupendous and some of his goals in the distant past were top drawer. Problem is in this team, bereft of supporting quality, Prince is next to useless.
He can't create, he doesn't have the pace to support, and he can't swing in crosses.
At his best Prince lives up to his name. Right now he's a waste of a jersey (not totally his fault) and serves no purpose in this team.