The comparisons are already being made by the faithful. Is Jude Bellingham England's new Gazza? Are we are witnessing the birth of a magnificent global star at a World Cup just as we did 32 years ago?
At the tender age of 19 Bellingham already has 20 caps to his name and will probably return to this country very soon for a fee north of £100m. He is that gilt edged.
Our boy Gazza exploded onto the world stage at Italia 90 and Bellingham is producing a similar impact here despite being four years younger than the Geordie jester back in the days when Bobby Robson was boss.
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Hey Jude looks every inch the heir apparent but if it comes to pass I hope he is provided with better protection than our much-abused local hero.
We as a nation can quickly build up players to iconic status but then ruthlessly drag them from their pedestal.
Social media has only added to the pitfalls for the successful young who must also confront all the varied natural temptations without the wisdom of age. It is a potent cocktail that can destroy lives never mind careers and the need for football's authority to look after players' mental health has never been greater.
Working class lads who can play dream football are not necessarily equipped to deal with all-intrusive fame but are still ruthlessly criticised when their behaviour falls short of saintly.
Gazza was left to self destruct and yes he obviously has to shoulder much blame but let all remember there but for the grace of God....
A nice lad with a big heart and colossal talent was allowed to rot when all he wanted deep down was to be loved. Jude Bellingham must not become a second Gazza off the field of combat.
Gateshead's struggles were inevitable when they lost top players
Let us deal in cold facts rather than knee-jerk emotion. Gateshead were crowned National League North champions last season to gain promotion back into the top division of non-league football.
However before a ball was kicked upstairs they were forced to sell their two top goalscorers to the same club Notts County. Macaulay Langstaff had plundered 32 goals for Gateshead in all competitions which he topped up with 14 assists. Cedwyn Scott had weighed in with 24 strikes from 42 league games.
Thus alerted County, the oldest football club in the world with 160 years of history, came calling with their cheque book open and pen in hand. Inevitably off went Langstaff and Scott to join a club known as the Magpies like big brother on the Tyne.
Fast forward to the present day and you find Notts County top of the National League and Gateshead third bottom. Langstaff has reaped an unbelievable 20 league goals to be the top scorer in the whole division by a mile while Scott has nine. Both scored in a 4-1 demolition of hosts Scunthorpe United last weekend.
Of course I thoroughly understand why the two deals had to be done. I owned Gateshead for over a decade and know how difficult (nay impossible) it is to generate sufficient money through the gate and how their geographical location further drains the purse in terms of travel expense.
County smashed the National League attendance record in their last home match when a capacity crowd of 16,511 packed into Meadow Lane - a bigger gate than the Premier League fixture between Bournemouth and Everton just before it. Gateshead in contrast had 996 in for their match with Aldershot at the weekend and their largest attendance this season is 1,874 v Southend.
This is a small non-league club rescued from the brink of extinction by a bunch of die-hard but not well-heeled supporters. It is not a Premier League club backed by Saudi coin.
Cash-strapped Gateshead had been forced to sign their own eventual death warrant when both players refused to put pen to paper on new contracts unless a release clause was inserted stipulating they could go if any club offered a certain amount.
From that moment the clock was ticking and County duly met the written demand. The only way the Heed could glean anything further from the deal was to secure a clause stating they would receive a percentage of any large fee should either be sold on. They have that with County as a small consolation.
However whether inevitable or not when you sell your biggest two assets before kicking a ball on promotion then life is going to be brutally hard. Oh, and the next game up for relegation threatened Gateshead? Notts County away!
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