We all have one big regret as supporters.
Often it involves a player no longer plying their trade at your club and inevitably, in your opinion, one who left all too prematurely.
The choice of many still hurts both the supporters and Liverpool Football Club to this day.
Many underestimated Raheem Sterling as a Liverpool player. In particular his contribution during the ill-fated 2014/15 season, when he almost single-handedly carried the team on his then 20-year-old shoulders and from a number of positions, including right wing-back.
He left to join a Manchester City team on the ascendancy to being a major football powerhouse and arrived with a number of question marks from both media and supporters.
Fast forward to the modern day and Sterling has proved to be a pivotal factor in denying the Reds a long awaited Premier League title, as his City side pipped Jürgen Klopp’s men by a singular point to top spot, reinforcing the narrative as my very own “one that got away”.
Within the timeframe of Sterling’s departure, only Trent Alexander-Arnold has made a significant breakthrough from the Academy system in Kirkby, with brief forays from the likes of Jordon Ibe, Kevin Stewart and Ben Woodburn not making a sustainable and everlasting effect.
In the infancy of the current pre-season, there has been much discussion around two returning loanees of the 2018/19 season, Harry Wilson and Ryan Kent, with the talk being primarily centred around whether either or both can finally make the grade as first-team players under Klopp.
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Much of the focus has been on Wilson, following his successful loan spell at Derby County last season, in which he scored 18 goals and provided nine assists in 48 appearances.
Kent spent the season in Scotland at Glasgow Rangers, where he scored six goals and provided nine assists in 48 games for Steven Gerrard’s men.
With Liverpool continuing to distance themselves from any marquee signings that would impact on the forward positions, a close eye has been kept on the first-half performance of both players in the warm-up fixtures against Tranmere Rovers and Bradford City as a potential option for the upcoming campaign.
It can be argued on the evidence to date that Kent has caught the eye more with his pace and direct running in wide areas.
While Wilson was used primarily as a wide forward in a 4-3-3 system under manager Frank Lampard, he would be continually instructed to tuck in and join midfield play between lines to allow space for his marauding full-backs; a formula which ensured Championship play-off success for Derby and his manager a move to Stamford Bridge and his beloved Chelsea.
This type of formula is not overtly utilised by Klopp, who is keen to employ pace and power from both Mohamed Salah and Sadio Mane with a reinforcement of such attributes from Alexander-Arnold and Andy Robertson.
Neither Kent or Wilson would be seen as immediate starters at Liverpool, therefore the concept of one coming from the bench and being asked to provide energy and industry with 20 minutes to go could again go in favour of Kent, due to his more explosive style.
Klopp and his team may opt to reinvent Wilson and maybe employ him in a deeper role, yet with the return of Adam Lallana and Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain after an injury hit season, his options may well prove further restricted in a different position.
With both players now aged 22, there is a question mark around whether they have both evolved past the tag of potential and now have to be considered as established footballers, which opens up the question as to whether that should be a future away from Liverpool.
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The club have not been averse to cashing in on Academy and imported young talents if they feel the opportunity is right for them and the player.
The aforementioned Ibe, Dominic Solanke and Brad Smith were all sold to AFC Bournemouth for a combined fee of £37m ($46m), as an example.
In most cases, Liverpool will insert a buy-back and sell-on clause for this bracket of player, should their trajectory become stratospheric once they have left the club.
Klopp is a huge advocate of player and person well-being, also. Therefore should players such as Kent and Wilson feel frustrated and unhappy at a perceived lack of opportunities the manager will put both squad and individual harmony at the forefront of any future decision making process.
The perception of young player sales has now changed dramatically within the club. No longer are Liverpool supporters scratching their heads as a result of players the calibre of Sterling being allowed to leave.
The idea that players such as Kent and Wilson are gifted and dedicated enough to play at the top level, albeit not quite at the level required for this current crop of supremely talented footballers at Anfield, is completely rational and acceptable.
From an economic perspective, this also allows the Academy to become self-sufficient, given the money generated from player sales of its graduates being reinvested back into the club and balancing out the daily running costs of youth football from the age of six upwards.
It may be that neither of Wilson or Kent has a Liverpool future beyond this summer. If this is to be the case, it will be likely they leave with the permission and well-wishes of everybody at the club.
A club now safe in the knowledge that past mistakes will not be repeated, and there will be no more cases of a love lost.