For a Blackburn side who've been marooned outside the Premier League since their relegation in 2012, they're going to need something special if they're to get back to football's pinnacle.
With limited finances, recruiting that star quality is realistically out of Rovers' reach, so they have to find that from somewhere else, and they've proved in recent years that they've been good at doing just that.
Blackburn have always had at least one standout player within their squad, with the likes of Adam Armstrong, Ben Brereton Diaz and Sammie Szmodics all getting big moves off the back of signing for the East Lancashire outfit.
They're all players who the club recruited though, which takes months of due diligence and can be a costly process if they get it wrong, which is perhaps why Rovers have now placed an added emphasis on producing their own talent, something that in recent years they've made a good fist of.
With a category one academy, and the ability to offer youngsters football in Premier League 2, they're an attractive prospect for up-and-coming talent, not to mention they've shown in recent years that they will give youngsters a chance in the first team if they're good enough.
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Harvey Higgins is next in the long line of emerging talent
Ewood Park - Blackburn Rovers
Teenage sensation Harvey Higgins appears to be one of the brightest prospects in the country at the moment, netting on his U21's debut for Blackburn after just two minutes earlier this week.
That hasn't gone unnoticed, with Manchester City, Chelsea and Liverpool all reportedly tracking the 15-year-old, and it's that news which will mean Rovers aren't getting carried away with themselves just yet.
Rovers will feel like they've been down this road before, and in truth, they have very recently, with Rory Finneran leaving for Newcastle United despite making a first team debut for the club at the same age Higgins is now.
In recent history, Ashley Phillips did something similar, leaving for Tottenham when he was tipped to be a future England centre back, so the evidence is there that holding onto these players is tough for Blackburn.
They'll almost certainly fear a repeat with Higgins, but given Rovers' history of handing opportunities to stars regardless of age, and the lack of opportunities elsewhere so far for Phillips and Finneran, he would perhaps be wise to stay where he is.
The major fear for Blackburn though, will be that like Finneran, he leaves before they even get a chance to see if he can help them compete at the top end of the table.
Rovers have a long-standing history of blooding young talent
Adam Wharton
While Adam Wharton is the premier pick of Rovers academy graduates in recent history, it's easy to forget that Arsenal goalkeeper David Raya is also a product of the Rovers academy.
Aside from the obvious names playing in the Premier League currently, current Blackburn players Lewis Travis, Joe Rankin-Costello, Scott Wharton, Hayden Carter, John Buckley and Harry Leonard have all also come through the academy pathway.
Notable Blackburn Rovers academy graduates
Name
David Raya
Adam Wharton
Darragh Lenihan
Ashley Phillips
Grant Hanley
David Dunn
Jonathan Walters
Tom Bloxham had a sniff of first team football in pre-season, and is one of many names, alongside Higgins, who may Rovers fans expect to see gracing the Ewood Park turf in years to come.
By producing such talent, interest from big clubs will naturally ensue, but for a club like Blackburn, who aren't in receipt of parachute payments, selling these types of player is imperative to running the football club as a business.
They'll be acutely aware of that with Higgins, and as much as there is a wealth of interest in him now, he could be one injury of a dip in form away from being forgotten about, such is the ruthlessness at that level of the game, with every club wanting the next Jude Bellingham.