Pulis is right in what he is saying. Under 21 football does not prepare them for league football. He certainly wont be 'up to speed' in a few games
Agree to an extent, but I'd add that U21 football doesn't prepare them for the kind of football Pulis would want his side playing in particular. Southampton for example seem to have bought through a least 5/6 high quality players in recent years who have gone straight from the U21 set up to the first team without any loan spells elsewhere and done well enough.
If Leko genuinely isn't ready to contribute in at least half our games next season we would be better off sending him on loan to a decent Championship club. However my worry is that he probably is of a level where he can add something as a squad player at least but will be sent out on loan or back to the U21's simply because he is 17
As a side note, apparently Leko is the first teenager to start a game for Pulis since before he took over at Stoke in 2006. Incredible if true. It's also a concern hat if true then Pulis has literally never worked with a player like Leko before. There's a good chance he has no idea how to integrate a promising youth team player and turn him in to a 1st team player. Just because he hasn't done it before it doesn't mean he an't but I cant help feeling Leko would have better chance of making it somewhere other than Albion as things stand.
Lastly I think it's fair to say Pulis one and only agenda is to keep us up and get 40 points. Even if he does stay with us next year it's obvious that unless he changes his approach, or he fans change their view of him he wont be here long term (3/4 years down the line) so with that in mind what's his motivation to develop Leko? I'm afraid we will still see plenty of players like McClean and Gardner ahead of him next year because Pulis knows what he will get from them when inevitably Leko will blow hot and cold.
Hopefully he can push on over the summer and cement himself around the 1st team. I dont expect to see him starting 30 games next season but would be great to see him involved from the start of next seaso and see how he goes from there.