Everton manager Roberto Martinez has backed young defender John Stones to one day captain the team.

The 20-year-old has started five of the last six matches for the Blues and has been in impressive form all season, with the Spaniard tipping him for great things in the future.

"He is a leader. He is born with that quality. He has real high standards in everything he does and for a young man he has always got the right approach on a daily basis," Sky Sports News quotes Martinez as saying.

"In my eyes he is a potential captain and leader, someone very close to Phil Jagielka and Gareth Barry.

"He has a good core to learn from - Jagielka, Sylvain Distin and Antolin Alcaraz and it has been beneficial having Tim Howard behind him. Clearly in the last few weeks he has earned his place and performances have shown that."

Everton are in Premier League action on Sunday when they take on Manchester United at Old Trafford.