Jordan Henderson admits he's wary of heaping too much praise on Jude Bellingham's shoulders as the England youngster gets set to shine in Qatar.
Teenager Bellingham has come to the fore for the Three Lions despite the team's disappointing form of late, and the Borussia Dortmund star now seems set to be one of the key figures for Gareth Southgate's side at this winter's World Cup.
Rumours of a potential summer transfer continue to swirl around the former Birmingham City talent, with Henderson's Liverpool one of the sides most closely linked, and the Reds skipper is in no doubts about the quality that Bellingham possesses.
"I like Jude, I think he's an amazing player," said Henderson while speaking at a McDonald's Fun Football event in Liverpool.
"He's a fantastic professional and his mentality is really key for his development.
"I almost don't want to big him up too much because he's still a young lad!
"There will be a lot of pressure on him at a young age, but of course he's a top, top player, and I'm sure he'll have a big part to play in Qatar."
Henderson has taken something of a mentoring role with Bellingham and other younger members of Southgate's squad, but his importance to England was encapsulated by the manager's decision to call him into the squad with the Nations League clashes with Italy and Germany despite his recent absence from Liverpool matches with a hamstring injury.
The midfielder came on for the final few moments of the 3-3 Wembley draw with Germany, replacing Bellingham, and is now eyeing what would be a sixth major tournament with England - equalling the record held by Steven Gerrard, Wayne Rooney and Sol Campbell.
Henderson's first tournament appearance came way back at Euro 2012, when he featured against France just a few days short of his 22nd birthday.
He insisted his approach hasn't changed though, and he's hoping England can take the next step.
"I'll approach it as I always do, obviously it doesn't get any bigger than the World Cup," he continued.
"We've gone close in the Euros last year and obviously the previous World Cup, so we've had a taste of what it feels like to go far, but obviously there was the disappointment and the hurt of not quite getting over the line, so I hope we can use that going into this tournament."
Despite relegation from the Nations League, Henderson feels there were positives to take from recent results and performances.
"The Germany game was a snapshot of our mentality, and how we can come back as a group," he added.
"Two-nil down against Germany can go awfully and dreadfully wrong, and I think we reacted in the right way, stayed together through tough moments, and although unfortunately we didn't win the game I think we did really well to come back and salvage a draw.
"We were positive after the game.
"We're obviously going to go through difficult times as a team, and we've had our fair share of criticism over the past few camps, so it was nice to keep going and to show the mentality of the team, to keep fighting right until the end, and we nearly got our rewards."
A day after playing for England, Henderson was putting on a free coaching session for kids in Liverpool through the McDonald's Fun Football programme.
"It's brilliant, it's really good session. It's been nice to come down and have a mess about with the kids and a kickabout," he said.
"I think it's really important to get kids out playing football when you think of the world we're living in today, the cost of living crisis, for McDonald's to put these Fun Football sessions on free of charge I think is really important. It's great for children to come and meet new people and new friends and enjoy playing football."
The father of three might also have another footballer in the family before too long, adding: "My eldest is starting to ask a few questions now so she might want to start soon!"
Jordan Henderson was speaking at a McDonald’s Fun Football session in Liverpool. This Autumn sessions will run in over 250 locations around the country. Fun Football is the UK’s biggest free grassroots football programme and is giving one million children access to free coaching over the next four years. Find a session near you at mcdonalds.co.uk/football
