Wisdom: I'll follow Stevie's lead
Andre Wisdom believes playing alongside Steven Gerrard has given him the perfect leadership example for his new role as England U21 captain.
The 20-year-old defender was handed the armband by boss Gareth Southgate on Wednesday, and will perform his first task as skipper by leading the side out for their opening European Championship qualifier against Moldova later today.
Wisdom is more than ready for the challenge, as he has the pleasure of watching Gerrard master the captaincy for both Liverpool and England.
"Steven Gerrard is a great captain for club and country," he said.
"I am a defender and he is a midfielder, but it doesn't matter what position you play. You can learn a lot from him, especially being young.
"Training with him every day I see the way he presents himself and the way he lifts teams in time of need for club or country.
"He has done that many times and it is good to learn from him.
"I haven't asked him for tips but I can see the way he lifts the team and hopefully I can do the same. I am very honoured to captain any England side at any level, so I am glad to have maintained the captaincy and hopefully we can go on and do well."
Gerrard is not the only Reds player, who has influenced Wisdom's game.
Fellow defender Kolo Toure rates the youngster highly, recently declaring: "I think he's a great player. He's learning very well. He is going to be one of the best defenders in the Premier League, I'm sure."
Jamie Carragher, meanwhile, has highlighted Wisdom's maturity.
"It is obviously good to be called a wise head on young shoulders - I think it goes well with my second name as well," said the former Bradford City player.
"It is good to try and take everything in your stride and try to be as humble as possible.
"I try to learn as much as I can from players like Kolo Toure and Jamie Carragher, who has recently retired, and take as much as you can each day."