Steven Gerrard has urged England supporters to have patience with Dele Alli and warned the Tottenham Hotspur midfielder to be prepared for a negative swing in public opinion later in his career.
Writing in his column in The Telegraph, Gerrard revealed he was very pleased with England's performance in the recent friendly against Germany, but is wary of putting too much pressure on the young team by getting carried away.
"The last thing I want to do is put a dampener on the enthusiasm for our prospects this summer -- I was as excited as everyone by our performance against Germany. But two assets most lacking in the build-up to a major tournament tend to be calmness and perspective," Gerrard wrote.
"If I could offer one piece of advice to Dele Alli and the England youngsters vying for a European Championship spot it's this: embrace the moment because now it's going to get really tough.
"I am loving watching Alli play at the moment and want to see him have more opportunities, but I'm less enthusiastic about the idea we should prematurely dump established England internationals.
"There is so much to like about how he [Alli] plays the game. He has technique and attitude. It's not just his skill I admire, but his temperament. I like his football arrogance where he absorbs every challenge and gets on the ball as if he belongs on the biggest of stages."
Liverpool were reportedly close to signing Alli ahead of Tottenham last January, but Gerrard doesn't feel too much should be made of the missed opportunity.
Instead, the former Liverpool captain believes credit should go to MK Dons and Spurs for allowing him a platform to develop.
"I'm not sure how close we were, but it's too easy to start calling out clubs for not taking a chance on him. Liverpool certainly weren't alone," Gerrard added. "I'm not a fan of wisdom after the event where clubs are criticised for who they did not sign. Judge the transfers that did happen. Spurs are now reaping the rewards."