Former Liverpool captain Steven Gerrard is destined to become a manager and could occupy that role at Anfield, according to his coach at LA Galaxy, Bruce Arena.
Gerrard, 35, left his boyhood club Liverpool for a move to MLS in the summer, signing an 18-month contract.
The midfielder has made six appearances for LA Galaxy so far, scoring once and assisting three goals, and Arena has been impressed with the ex-England international's intelligence off the field as well as on it.
"His next step in the game is to be a manager, no question about it," Arena said in the Daily Mail. "He's very studious about what goes on.
"We talk about what he's done at Liverpool and we compare notes. He's going to be a manager after he leaves the game as a player. Where that's going to be, I don't know.
"I would love it if someone like that could replace me, but I don't think it's going to be with the Galaxy.
"I'd guess he'd go back to England and then you can guess where he might end up after that."
Arena added: "We're very fortunate How many players can you pick out around the world like Steven Gerrard? With the quality he has on the field and his general intelligence. He gets it. He sees it.
"Before he came, I visited Liverpool and was surprised how much he knew about our team.
"By the time he got here at the end of June he knew everyone. He knew the names of players he was meeting for the first time and he knew about their qualities.
"He was fully prepared. We've had other players in the past where the transition of moving their families was a major chore. With him it was already done. It was so smooth it was ridiculous.
"We'd already secured him when I went to Liverpool. It took one phone call. It was remarkable.
"If Steven didn't play football he'd be very successful at something else. He could have been a professor.
"He's so articulate and bright. He could have made a success of anything. He made a pretty good decision becoming a footballer but he's a pretty sharp guy.
"For whatever reason, he knew his time was up at Liverpool and he was fully secure and comfortable with that decision and he was going to make his next move.
"LA was a great fit for him and David Beckham having been here put us in a very favourable position. The recruitment of Steven was so easy. It didn't take months of hard work. We had what he was looking for."