Brendan's plan to nurture Raheem rise
Brendan Rodgers and his staff at Liverpool plan to carefully manage the rapid ascent of Raheem Sterling to ensure that the young forward can utilise his natural talent across the next decade.
During the past 12 months, the 19-year-old has quickly developed into a fixture of the Reds team, capable of thriving in numerous attacking positions with his raw pace and growing composure.
That form booked a place in the England squad for the World Cup in the summer, where Sterling again impressed, firmly establishing him as a bright hope for the future of the Three Lions.
He did little to quell national expectations when he followed up two goals in three games at the outset of the new club season with a pair of impressive displays for his country earlier this month.
Rodgers is of course enthused by the progress of his No.31 but, as Sterling and his Anfield colleagues prepare to meet Aston Villa today, the boss outlined the importance of protecting the player.
"I've spoken to Raheem about it this week," the Northern Irishman explained to the Liverpool Echo. "I must say he handles it very well.
"He's just taking it all in his stride. He's a very mature boy. He's a good kid who has grown up very quickly in the last two years.
"He's very grounded. His talent is doing all the talking for him. He's in a really exciting time at this club and in an exciting team.
"It's our job here to protect him as we want him to still be playing at the top of his game when he gets to his peak years between 28 and 31.
"In terms of where he's at, we just need to be careful. Raheem will make mistakes, he will have bad games, but he will also have outstanding games.
"He's a wonderful talent who is doing great for Liverpool but there are still a lot of things he needs to learn - and he knows that.
"It's a case of keeping the calmness with him as he still has a way to go, but he's certainly performing at a really high level at the moment."
When Kopites first heard whispers of the prodigious ability of a young Sterling, the Englishman was rising through the ranks as a fleet-footed winger blessed with incredible speed.
Under the tutelage of Rodgers, though, last season saw the teenager broaden his positional spectrum by starring from a more central deployment.
Analysing his adaptation, the manager commented: "When I first had Raheem a couple of years ago, he was an out and out winger.
"He preferred to play on the left coming in off his right foot, making runs on the inside and looking to beat his opponent on the one-against-one.
"As his game has developed he's played across the front line in a lot of different systems. I've done it all my life with young players, playing them in different positions to see if they can improve their game intelligence.
"We've seen him playing at the top of the diamond or in that No.10 role. His football brain is improving all the time. He can play one touch, two touch and he also works tirelessly for the team.
"He's a big talent and the consistency in his performances over the period he's been in the team has been exceptional."