There are plenty of benefits in helping nurture one of the country’s top young talents, but so too a responsibility.

Not 18 until April, Harvey Elliott is dropped off at the club’s Brockhall training base every day, while after each away game, Rovers must ensure a taxi is ready and waiting to pick him up.

Then there’s the educational side of still, technically, being a second-year scholar, with maths and English programmes to complete. For Tony Mowbray, Elliott speaks the language of football and his numbers on the pitch are certainly stacking up.

‘If you’re good enough you’re old enough’ and ‘age is but a number’ are two of the oldest analogies going. But with Elliott, it is worth reminding yourself how young he is.

Stewart Downing re-signed for Rovers earlier this month, the 36-year-old having made his senior debut for Middlesbrough a year before Elliott was born.

Yet only a month into his time at Ewood Park, his loan move already looks one that will benefit all parties. Liverpool are taking an active interest, unsurprising given what an asset Elliott is, with Jurgen Klopp regularly keeping abreast of his progress by watching online streams, and coaching staff paying regular visits into Mowbray’s office.

On the pitch, Elliott has played every minute of Rovers’ last five fixtures, that owing to his talent on the pitch however, rather than any clauses which means that has to happen.

With a third assist to his name in Rovers’ win over QPR, adding to his goal against Coventry City, Mowbray feels there is even more to come from the teenager.

“I’ve been talking to him and I think he needs to be a bit more selfish in the box,” he said.

“Having spoken to the staff at Liverpool, they feel as if he sees himself as an assist-maker rather than a goalscorer. And ultimately, any top, top player, you have to look at their statistics as the season unfolds. How many assists, how many goals do you get?

“If he is going to play up front for us, at the moment, he’s playing in the front three, if in 20 games, he’s only had three assists and one goal, it’s probably not going to be enough for Liverpool to look at him and think he can come in our team and do this.

“Adam Armstrong has set up three or four but he’s scored 11. Ben Brereton has scored two but he assisted a couple more the other week. So, when you add your assists and goals up you know Harvey is going to want to score more. He’s scored once and he’s got amazing feeling in his feet.”

The likelihood is that Elliott’s time at Ewood Park will be solely for the duration of his season-long loan. Indeed, here is a player who already has seven first-team appearances to his name for the Reds, and were things to have panned out differently with Xherdan Shaqiri in the summer, would still be at Anfield.

Rovers’ relationship with Liverpool has developed closely in recent times, with two friendlies in the past three years, and enquiries having been made about players in windows gone by, such as Curtis Jones. And that’s what gave Rovers the advantage when Liverpool agreed to sanction a move, one Elliott rubber-stamped in a bid to further his experiences.

“We know he’s a Liverpool player and I’m sure he’s going to enjoy his time with our club and develop as a footballer,” Mowbray explained.

“We send players down the leagues to get experience of playing men’s football, of listening to different managers, to feel what it means to the rest of the team to play well and win a game.

“I’m sure he sits there sometimes and thinks this is a million miles away from Liverpool because they never give the ball away, they know when to play forward, their strikers make better runs but he’s a really humble lad, that was my first opinion of him.

“He’s come in, joined in and he is hoping he can help our team win some football matches.”

While there was great excitement among the Rovers fanbase when news broke on deadline day that a deal was being worked on, for outsiders, it brought a great deal of intrigue.

Just how had this come about, and how would someone at such a tender age fare? The early signs on the latter are universally positive, while the former come down to relationships, opportunities, and geography.

“We made contact with Liverpool. We’re in the north west, Man City are in the north west, Man United, Liverpool, it’s important we have contact with those clubs,” Mowbray said.

“I hope Elliott’s with us because Liverpool trust us with their young players.

“Liverpool will watch his games and they will have an opinion and what he needs to work on.

“I’m sure lots of clubs asked about him, but because we’re in the north west he doesn’t have to go and live in digs or stay in a hotel, he can stay at home.”

There will always be intricacies to contend with when discussing any player, but a 17-year-old England youth international on loan from the Premier League champions does add its own details.

They include his educational requirements, as well as his welfare of being 17, but on the football pitch, there are no concerns.

“He’s 17-years-old, he’s an adolescent, yet the talent is there to see,” Mowbray enthused.

And that talent was displayed with his weight of pass to create Rovers’ second goal in the win over QPR, as it was in his assists for Armstrong against Reading and Sam Gallagher at Coventry.

As with any player under Mowbray, they will be required to do the hard yards off the ball, though coming from Liverpool, well known for their pressing game under Klopp, that’s nothing new for the teenager currently away on England Under-19s duty.

On the ball, there is a glint in Mowbray’s eye when it comes to discussing Elliott’s qualities.

“Harvey Elliott just brings a bit of everything. Decision making, weight of pass, when to keep it, when to play forward. Some of the deliveries from set pieces are just begging to be headed or put into the net.

“You can see the quality of the kid. It’s amazing to think he is so young. We are delighted we have him. He’s a really refreshing and nice lad to work with.

“He asks questions.

“He understands football and we are delighted that he’s here.”

Working under Klopp, Elliott will feel ‘safe, according to Mowbray, who says the German’s character that shines through in television interviews is the same in person.

He is certain that in time Elliott will become a huge star for the Reds, but in the meantime, Rovers will look to play a part in nurturing that path, as well as reaping the benefits of his talents.

“Jurgen really likes Harvey Elliott but with total respect we’re talking about the Premier League and European champions and it’s difficult for him to impact on that team at 17,” the Rovers boss said.

“They wanted him to get experience and play on a regular basis which is what we’ll hopefully allow him to do.

“He’ll be a huge asset for Liverpool and I’m sure they wanted to make sure he’ll be in the right environment and if they don’t they’d take him out of it.

“I have to look after Blackburn Rovers but at this moment it’s benefitting all parties for this young boy to be playing in our first-team and affecting results.

“You can see he’s a people person and this young boy will feel very safe in Jurgen’s hands.”