If there is an abiding image of Ben Doak's fledgling Liverpool career to date, it was one taken of him on Boxing Day last year.
The winger was around a month removed from celebrating his 17th birthday when he was introduced for his Premier League debut at Aston Villa on December 26.
With the Reds 3-1 up after a hard-fought contest in Birmingham, Doak was brought on for his first taste of English football's top flight and while most youngsters would have looked to have quietly slotted in for the final moments of the game, Doak is not most youngsters.
Receiving the ball with his back to goal on the right side of the pitch, rather than simply keep hold of it with a backwards pass, Doak, instead, performed a sumptuous dummy that saw the ball roll through his legs before he turned and accelerated past Villa left-back Lucas Digne.
READ MORE: Liverpool have two major decisions to get right over Trent Alexander-Arnold future
READ MORE: Newcastle legend's son and £1m goalkeeper - Meet the 12 starlets 'promoted' to Liverpool squad
France international Digne, who was left floored by the move, is unlikely to have been as directly flummoxed since his days of marking Lionel Messi in Barcelona training sessions and his allegiances to former club Everton ensured the Reds supporters in the far end of Villa Park extracted full schadenfreude from the delightful Doak move.
The former Celtic teen gave the uninitiated a tantalising snapshot of both the fearless mentality and ability that has underpinned his development on a journey that has taken him to the cusp of the first team at Anfield so far.
At 17, there will be no demands placed on Doak for the coming campaign but club coaches believe they have a potentially special talent in their ranks in the teak-tough Scot. Before his special St Stephen's Day, he marked a memorable week a month earlier by signing his first professional terms just days after his senior debut came in a penalty-shootout win over Derby County in the Carabao Cup.
Arriving for Fabio Carvalho for the final 15 minutes of normal time, the youngster's willingness to drive at his more experienced opponents was a key feature in an exciting cameo which was no surprise to regular watchers of academy football.
Rarely a game went by during the Under-19s UEFA Youth League campaign when the ECHO's analysis was not highlighting another fine performance from Doak. The electric winger scored four goals and carved out as many assists as the Reds qualified from a group featuring Rangers, Ajax and Napoli in comfort.
The pick of the bunch was surely in his hometown of Glasgow when he played most of the second half as a lone striker after defender Lee Jonas has been dismissed with Barry Lewtas's men leading 2-0. A comeback from the Scottish side at Partick Thistle's Firhill stadium saw the young Reds hanging on back in October as the game moved into its final stages.
It was an intervention from Doak, who had already enjoyed an outstanding game, that turned the match back in the visitors' favour. After picking up a loose ball with his back to goal at 2-2, he wriggled free of a couple of challenges before carrying it into the penalty area and dispatching with the outside of his foot for the winning goal.
For a young Scot who had made it to the fringes of the senior level at Celtic prior to his £600k move to Anfield, it was no doubt a standout moment, particularly as it was witnessed by a handful of family and friends who all embraced him at full time.
"In a game that had strikers scoring braces, defenders being sent off, a penalty and seven goals in total, it was Ben Doak's sensational performance that was still the main talking point from a contest that virtually had it all," wrote the ECHO's match report that day. "Only the former Celtic youngster will know how much personal motivation he takes from a meeting with Rangers but the No.7 was once again outstanding for Barry Lewtas's Under-19s in this hugely entertaining 4-3 victory."
After beating Porto on penalties in the knockout stages, Liverpool's eventual elimination in the Youth League came in difficult circumstances in Lisbon in March with Doak forced off with a shocking injury inside 10 minutes following a clash of heads with Sporting defender Joao Muniz. How that result might have been different had Doak's energy and direct style been available to Lewtas that afternoon.
"Ben hasn't even been here a year and has made huge progress," Lewtas told the ECHO recently. "It was important we didn't take away what he already had as an unbelievably direct, energetic wide player, and we worked really hard with him on parts of the game we thought he could develop and enhance.
"He still has a lot of that work to do but for a young boy who has moved home, from one big club to another, there has been a lot of attention around him and he's made his first-team debut, to have the impact he has over the course of the season has been brilliant for him."
"Raring to go," was one assessment from those close to Doak ahead of the return to pre-season training last week. The winger spent a portion of his holiday time working with a personal trainer alongside childhood friend and Crystal Palace prospect Dylan Reid before he reported back for official duty.
A "special boy" was Klopp's first assessment last season. "[He is] really confident, has something nobody else delivers really, this kind of dribbling, this kind of straight-forward bravery, all these kind of things."
At 17, a loan move away from the Reds has not been ruled out but the attacker is said to be desperate for a further taste of senior action to show what he can do. There is understood to be an acceptance, however, of how good he has to be to make the long-term grade in Klopp's side. For now, he is well placed continued to learn his trade while studying some of the best players in the Premier League up close. For a young hopeful, there can be no better role model than the uber-professional Mohamed Salah.
While respectful of his more senior colleagues for what they have achieved in the game, those who know the player personally insist he is not overawed by the reputations of those he is now rubbing shoulders with at the AXA Training Centre, although he is keen to soak up as much information as possible from the likes of Salah and Andy Robertson who have taken the time to pass on their wisdom. Robertson, in particular, as Scotland captain is said to keen an eye out for his young compatriot.
If Doak is not phased by the accomplishments of those he trains with, he is - as evidenced by the clean pair of heels shown to Digne on Boxing Night - even less daunted by those he plays against. And if that piece of trickery is the lasting image of his Liverpool career so far, it surely won't be in years to come.
