Stephen Darby hopes Liverpool is his future, so he looked to Anfield with interest when the Reds sold Fernando Torres to Chelsea for a British record fee of £50m and promptly spent almost £58m on strikers Luis Suarez and Andy Carroll on the final day of the transfer window.
Darby, 22, is a promising defender, and has already made his bow for Liverpool on two of the biggest stages, the Premier League and Champions League.
He is intent on a career at Anfield ultimately, to play alongside the likes of Steven Gerrard, and now Suarez and Carroll, whose £35m transfer to Liverpool is now a record for a British player.
For now though, Darby is entirely focused on the present, and playing for Notts County.
After a hugely impressive month at Meadow Lane at the end of last year, right-back Darby has returned on loan from Liverpool until the end of the season.
He enjoyed one of the most memorable moments of his career playing for the Magpies a day before the exit of Torres and arrival of Suarez and Carroll at Anfield.
How he must wish Reds' boss Kenny Dalglish was watching as he and Notts produced a magnificent performance against Manchester City in the fourth round of the FA Cup at Meadow Lane and almost claimed a famous win.
Neal Bishop scored his first goal at Meadow Lane to put Notts ahead against the world's richest club and they led City until their new £27m striker Edin Dzeko decisively equalized in the closing stages.
"It was a great occasion for the club and a great tie to play in," said Darby.
"I really enjoyed playing against some of the top players and we almost beat them.
"We were all disappointed when they scored a late goal but a 1-1 draw against Manchester City is not a bad result and we can look forward to another big occasion in the replay now.
"We showed in the first game what we are capable of, so you never know what we could do at Eastlands."
Today, Darby will make his tenth league start for Notts just six miles from Anfield and 12 miles from his hometown of Maghull when they face Tranmere Rovers in League One.
Members of his family will be at Prenton Park – as "Notts fans for the day" he said – and he also has friends who are Rovers' fans.
It is a hugely important game for the Magpies, who are intent on climbing away from their current position towards the bottom of League One.
They are currently just two points above the drop zone, only two places and one point above Tranmere.
"I wasn't playing at Liverpool so it was important for to me to go out on loan, and I've enjoyed it at Notts," said Darby.
"The gaffer (Paul Ince) has given me a chance and I'm grateful for that.
"I've played in most of the games while I've been at Meadow Lane, which is great for my development at this stage of my career.
"It's going to be a tough game at Tranmere. They have already beaten us this season, but we were a bit unlucky to lose that day.
"We had a lot of chances in that game but didn't take any of them and were punished. We will have to take the chances we create today.
"We will have to work hard for each other and show a bit of character to grind out a victory."
Darby could play at left-back at Prenton Park if Jon Harley fails to recover from a thigh injury suffered in Notts' 1-1 draw against Walsall on Wednesday night.
The Magpies' assistant manager Alex Rae said Harley, who has only missed one league game this season, was making 'steady' progress and it was hoped he would be fit.
Like Darby, Rae is expecting a tough encounter against Rovers.
"I think all our games are important," he said.
"Tranmere are in and around us, so we'll be looking to put some points on the board to catapult ourselves up the table.
"If we had won against Walsall we would have climbed five places and we would have been moving in the right direction, so the draw was a big disappointment for everyone.
"It almost felt like a defeat because we had so much control of the game and conceded so late.
"We've got to re-group and get ready to go again."
Notts unjustly lost 1-0 to Tranmere at Meadow Lane in November.
"They turned us over earlier in the season, so we know they have got players who can make an impact," added Rae.
"We will give them the respect they deserve and appreciate they are fighting for their lives as well.
"It will be a typical League One game and I'm sure there will be plenty of blood and thunder."
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