Didier Droga was Dominic Solanke's inspiration as he grew up as a young footballer.
Not surprising for a player who came through the ranks at Chelsea perhaps, especially ones with dreams of being a centre forward who could make a real impact.
Sitting in front of a hall full of kids at Blackmoor Park Junior School in West Derby alongside colleague Trent Alexander-Arnold, Solanke reveals he might have considered a career in basketball if those football dreams hadn't worked out.
He's certainly got the size and strength for it, something already apparent in a nascent Liverpool career which has yielded just one start so far with nine appearances off the bench.
Apparent too back in June when he was named the winner of the Golden Ball as the best player at the U20 World Cup as England lifted the trophy in South Korea.
That ability this week led Aston Villa manager Steve Bruce to suggest that Solanke, 20, and young players like him needed to get out on loan soon rather than spend too much time warming the bench.
Solanke though is prepared to be patient at Anfield and knows it doesn't take much for the fates to fall in your favour.
He told the ECHO: "You've just got to keep working hard. Obviously at a big club like Liverpool there's always going to be great players and sometimes to get past them is hard but you've just got to keep working and play your part for the team.
"I think with football, it can go in all different ways and it can change very quickly as we've seen with many players.
"There could be injury or something injuries and you can go from a low spot to a high spot very quickly so however your opportunity comes you've just got to try to take it."
While Solanke hasn't had a huge number of first team opportunities so far he remains ahead of schedule, with the club expecting him mainly to be with the U23s this season after his move from Chelsea.
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