I give you Bascombe
Soon enough, the rest of the nation will wake up to Le Tallec's talents. Let's not forget who was named Player of the tournament in the World Youth Championships two years ago," says Chris Bascombe
In most cases, paying #12m for a teenager would be considered rank stupidity, over-indulgence or, at the very least, a gamble which even Chris Kirkland's dad would shy away from.
When Manchester United do it, it's a stroke of transfer genius. According to everyone who they make listen, United have just signed the best teenager in the world. By God are we hearing about it.
I'm not doubting Ronaldo's abilities. Clearly he's a talented kid who may be on the threshold of greatness. It just strikes me as rather odd that no-one has given the same attention to Liverpool's equally stunning new teenage recruit.
It seems Gerard Houllier's mistake with Anthony Le Tallec was to buy him early rather than delay until everyone in Europe wanted him. Obviously, Liverpool should have waited until Le Tallec's value was #12m.
Soon enough, the rest of the nation will wake up to Le Tallec's talents. Let's not forget who was named Player of the tournament in the World Youth Championships two years ago.
No doubt both Gerard and Sir Alex watched those same youth championships in Argentina a few years back and noticed the same players.
Indeed, Liverpool had already signed Le Tallec by then and were strongly linked with Ronaldo themselves, but can't afford to splash out like United.
Time will tell who's got the better deal, but for value for money I know who I'm backing. It's a bit like Houllier and Ferguson have both dined at the same top class restaurant and had their pick of the best main courses on the menu.
Houllier has managed to get his dish at a quarter of the cost Ferguson has paid, and yet it's his rival who is getting all the praise.
Indeed, I'm getting an eerie sense of deja vu when it comes to theman dubbed TLT who's about to explode onto the Premiership. I remember how slow our London based number one writers were to realise who Steven Gerrard was a few years back.
The Kop Magazine I once wrote even launched a campaign to get him in the England squad, so little attention was he receiving. Then, when the rest of the country noticed a year later, they decided to make him their own property.
It was a similar story with Wayne Rooney at Everton. A friend of mine who works on a national newspaper tried to get a feature on Rooney into his paper in the summer of 2002. They were having none of it. How times changed three months later when "Rooney Opens Crisp Packet" stories were making the front page.
Le Tallec won't get the same attention as Rooney, Gerrard or Michael Owen because he ain't English. But the few glimpses I've had of him remind me so much of the first time I saw Gerrard.
So young, yet so full of class. So clearly ready to play at the highest level and begin the learning curve which will take him to the top of the game.
One of the most encouraging, but sadly overlooked parts of Sunday was Le Tallec's being named a sub. Pity he didn't get on, although Houllier said he was prepared to play the youngster if the circumstances of the game had been different.
The career paths of Le Tallec and Ronaldo are sure to cross regularly over the next decade. Should the French gem prove himself the better player, you never know, maybe the manager who signed him will get a bit of credit.
