Brendan Rodgers believes maintaining his current level of hunger will be crucial to how much Raheem Sterling achieves in the game.
The Liverpool boss reserved words of praise for his teenage stars after the 1-0 win over Reading on Saturday — in particular Andre Wisdom.
But it was on Sterling that he was most revealing.
"He's still got an awful long way to go," Rodgers told the national press. "We want to have him here as a legend for many years.
"We don't want him at 17 years of age getting carried away with all the adulation and then at 21 he's washed up and everyone wants him out.
"The biggest thing for me is maintaining the hunger he's got now because he can be a really top player. It's a long way to go for him but at the moment he's been a revelation.
"I don't have any concerns about him at this moment. I talk to the players a lot about the good and the bad and just try and keep them developing. For him, right up until now, he's been brilliant.
"He's got a lovely way about him. He's a good kid. His mum does a great job with him and the people at the Academy have taught him good values as well. He's made that transition very well."
Another teen to excel over recent months is Wisdom, who has become a regular in defence after making his debut against Young Boys in September.
On the 19-year-old, Rodgers added: "Look at Andre Wisdom as well, we mustn't forget him.
"The attacking players tend to get all the praise but if you look at Andre, 19 years of age, up against a really experienced opponent [Jobi McAnuff], and he was magnificent.
"He was strong, aggressive and the pride they showed in their shirt was really impressive. All of them have that."
While Wisdom is proving his worth at right-back, the attention of most is naturally drawn to attacking players such as Sterling and Suso.
The former became our second youngest goalscorer ever on Saturday after wandering in off his flank to latch onto a Luis Suarez throughball.
"We've looked to develop his and Suso's game so that rather than being stuck out wide they come in around the corner, a half-position I call it, and that gives you that possibility to combine," Rodgers added.
"Luis is one of the cleverest players in the world at that. In the box he sees little things and passes, and these players can pick up these things from him. I thought Raheem did that really well."
Photo via LiverpoolFC.com
