Gary Cahill has claimed that England international teammate John Stones is unfazed by recent criticism and will only improve as a result of the vitriolic comments.
The Manchester City defender endured a few nervous moments during the Three Lions' win over Scotland on Friday, largely due to his focus on passing out from the back.
Cahill, who helped to keep a clean sheet alongside Stones in the heart of defence in the World Cup qualifier at Wembley, is confident that the 22-year-old will learn from any mistakes made in order to become one of the world's best.
"The potential is there for him to do whatever he wants to do. There is no reason he cannot go on and have the career he wants to have. He is a different type of player but I think everyone is aware of his ability," Cahill told reporters. "He is a great lad off the pitch, personality wise you have to look at that as well.
"Is he a boy who is going to take on advice from people? Is he going to listen to everybody and soak that up? He certainly is. Again, another bit of your character - I feel he is a guy who can deal with criticism, who can be fine with that. He will learn from his mistakes and from the things he is doing very well, which is more than the mistakes.
"He is doing a lot of good stuff at Manchester City and he is obviously highly regarded there. He will build confidence, his manager has obviously got confidence in him. When your manager and your team-mates have confidence in you, you take the criticism on the chin and keep going. He will be fine."
Stones joined Man City from Everton in the summer for a fee of £47.5m, making 16 appearances for the Citizens thus far in all competitions.
Daniel Lewis
