Chris Hughton and his coaching team have seen him in training for nearly a year.
If he was demonstrating that he could make a decent contribution, Hughton would be playing him more. He'd be playing him with Murray as per his quote, and/or he'd be pulling Murray off on 60 minutes and letting Locadia loose.
He hasn't done that though, has he?
This can only really mean that, in training, Locadia has not shown he can not do the job that Hughton want him to do, or
Hughton is wrong and should be playing him more.
Great post, I feel the same. If Locadia had shown himself ready in training, he would've replaced Muzza on 70 minutes in a stack of a games. With no need to change (the much slagged off) 4-5-1. I don't think we can accuse CH of being a poor manager or in carrying blinkered vendettas towards some players (Mourinho), so his professional judgement can only be that Locadia isn't ready yet.