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Liverpool's rich history is one littered with cautionary tales. The territory that comes with playing for a big club.
And yet, two careers in particular have been fresh in my mind this week, that of Michael Owen and that of Rhian Brewster.
Two forwards who played for the Reds during their teenage years, but with very different roles, yet two players who may feel they could have done more with their careers beyond their time at Anfield.
Owen is still publicly - and at any opportunity - proud to show the fact that he won the Ballon d'Or while at the club, yet you always sense a tinge of sadness that his career didn't last that little bit longer at an elite level. Instead, it burned bright and faded fast.
Brewster - some would argue, armed with the added benefit of hindsight - was never likely to reach that level. He certainly came from Chelsea hotly-tipped, though, and the fee he eventually left for symbolised that. Liverpool can rightly feel they got the better end of that deal now.
What if they had chosen to give him more minutes early on, though? If there were a proper development plan in place, meaning he wasn't simply left to be no more than a bench player? You can't help but feel that the lack of success in his career since could be in part due to a lack of top-level football during those years of such burgeoning talent.
For Owen, the opposite was certainly true. Some would argue that he was relied upon too frequently to be Liverpool's answer at such a young age and, despite the success he brought to Gerard Houllier's reign, that took a toll that was too great for his growing body.
It's these two career paths that make what Arne Slot does with Rio Ngumoha next a dilemma. It's clear that the youngster is ready for more minutes, but the club also needs to ensure it doesn't all come too soon for him.
Play him so much that you become reliant, and there's a chance that a growing body may not be able to take the strain, but wait too long to introduce him and potentially rob him of an early peak.
There's no one-size-fits-all solution to when a footballer's career peaks, even if we think we can generally attribute it to a specific age range.
Ramp his minutes up now, by all means, because he's more than deserving. But build him a proper ramp-up plan, so we can try to prolong the potential superstardom that stands before us.
Find more from Josh Sexton on outlets including The Anfield Wrap
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