"A disgrace if true". "This decision will come back to bite us". "Simply disgusting." Of the reactions from across the internet which greeted the sale of young German left-back Christopher Buchtmann to Fulham, those were among the more presentable and even they had to be doctored a little. Most simply threw out expletives, aiming them either on Rafael Benitez or the American owners with the choice of target being largely down to personal opinions on either one.

Such a response was hardly unexpected. A member of the German side that won the European Under 17 championships - a tournament during which he was among the best players - Buchtmann had shown signs of genuine promise not least in the FA Youth Cup final when he was one of the few to emerge with any credit. Those two games against Arsenal hinted that he was ready for a tougher challenge which is what he got when he was promoted to train at Melwood rather than the academy. It wouldn't take him long to nail down a spot on the reserves team, was the general opinion, but instead all he got was a transfer.

The surprise and the resulting expression of displeasure were therefore understandable. Yet this does not mean that Buchtmann will turn out to be as good as some of those who have spoken about him these past few days are expecting him to be. Just as there is no guarantee that any other young player will be as good as his early promise indicates that he will be.

A look at recent history should be enough to prove that. Twelve months ago, Marvin Pourie was sold to Schalke 04 in a move that generated a similar reaction to that of Buchtmann. Pourie had been one of the academy's leading scorers with goals figures that brought about easy comparisons with the likes of Robbie Folwer. Then suddenly he was sold.

It was a move that Liverpool would live to regret, or so was the public verdict. A year down the line, however, and that prediction doen't look like coming true. Pourie has spent most of that time on loan, twice going to 1860 Munich and then to TuS Koblenz. But that's not all: his second spell at 1860 Munich ended abruptly due to indiscipline whilst in his current loan he will be playing for the Under 19s. Hardly the actions of someone who was supposed to be so good.

Still not convinced? Well, there's more. In the same week that Liverpool were selling Buchtmann to Fulham, Nathan Porritt saw his contract at Middlesbrough being cancelled. Having never played for Liverpool, not even the youth sides, it isn't surprising if his name means little to you. Yet three years back, Porritt was at the centre of a controversy when a BBC Panorama's programme "Undercover: Football's Dirty Secrets" revealed that a number of clubs - one of which was alleged to be Liverpool - had made an illegal move to sign the then fifteen year old Porritt.

Whether those revelations were true or not (and the fact that they were never followed up would indicate that they weren't), what is most relevant to the argument being made here is that a player who at fifteen looked so good that so many high profile clubs risked getting sanctioned by the FA to try and get him is considered not to be good enough for a Championship side three years later.

Of course, all of this doesn't mean that Buchtmann isn't a good enough footballer and his career won't get anywhere. Liverpool could indeed end up regretting letting him go, and doing it so cheaply, but much of that depends as much on what happens next as it does on his talent. It could be that at Fulham he ends up playing in the Premier league earlier and under much less pressure than he would have at Liverpool. It is, after all, what happened to Stephen Warnock who had the luxury of playing away from the limelight at Blackburn and is now showing that he is a decent player at Aston Villa.

Talk of Warnock in a piece like this is inevitable for he, more than anyone else, has been used as an example of players let go to soon and for far too little. Yet, without going into whether he is good enough to be a regular starter for Liverpool, the fact of the matter is that Warnock has developed as he has precisely because he was allowed to leave. Had Benitez insisted on keeping him at Anfield as a squad player, then the likelihood is that he would have regressed than gone on to make the left-back slot his own.

It is such considerations that a manager has to take in when deciding on the future of a player. Talent is an important part of the equation but then there are other factors like attitude, tactical awareness and development that have to be considered. And not all of these factors will be as clearly evident to those watching games as they are to those who see the players train on a daily basis.

Sometimes it isn't easy to make a decision and on other occasions you might end up making the wrong one - let's not forget that Liverpool once had a young Scot by the name of Kenny Dalglish on trial but decided that he wouldn't be good enough - but they are decisions that have to be taken nevertheless. The fact that there are so few instances of players who turn out to have been sold prematurely, however, is as good enough an indication that most of the time the decision made is the right one.