Jude Bellingham made the 'perfect step' by ignoring Premier League interest to join Borussia Dortmund according to his manager Edin Terzic.
And Terzic believes he already has the stage his talents deserves at Dortmund as England's top-flight clubs circle again.
Bellingham is one of Europe's most in-demand players with Liverpool, Manchester City, Chelsea and Manchester United all hoping to land him this summer along with Spanish giants Real Madrid.
United in particular made a big effort to sign midfielder Bellingham from Birmingham in 2020 but he opted for a move to Germany instead.
His English admirers will get another close look at the Three Lions star in the second leg of Dortmund's last-16 Champions League tie against Chelsea at Stamford Bridge on Tuesday.
And ahead of a new Bellingham battle this summer, this time to keep him, Terzic said: 'With all the respect for Jude and his performances we have been answering this question since he joined.
'When he joined us there was interest from many Premier League clubs but he still chose us.
'He chose to join us because he knows this can be the perfect step for him and I think we've proven it both ways.
'He's helping us a lot but I also think that we as a club on that stage are helping him and his career as well.
'We're really happy and delighted that he is part of our team, he's one of our leaders at the age of 19, he stepped through to the English national team as a player of BVB and this is something we're really happy with.
'But we also know we need a good performance from him tomorrow to get to the next stage.
'This is something that is going to be a topic for his future but our future now is that we're going to face a really good opponent tomorrow in Chelsea FC and so we need him in a good way tomorrow.'
Dortmund teammate and former Liverpool midfielder Emre Can said: 'Everybody knows his potential and he's a world class talent.
'Jude has to know by his own what he is doing and it's difficult to say what is the best for him. He and his family have to decide that.'