Former England and Everton defender Phil Neville has stood up to defend young Toffees defender John Stones in light of heavy criticism the 22-year old has faced in recent months.
Stones endured a tough domestic season for Everton, being dropped by ex-Toffees boss Roberto Martinez after a string of individual errors.
However, the Barnsley-born defender is still in contention with a place in England's starting XI at Euro 2016 after being shown faith by national team manager Roy Hodgson.
Despite being criticised for 'over-playing' by England and Everton supporters alike, Stones is still the subject of transfer speculation linking him with a move to the likes of Manchester United and Chelsea.
Neville believes that a move away from the Premier League would suit Stones, with Barcelona and Real Madrid both open in their admiration of the youngster.
"?"He has been heavily criticised and a lot of it has been absolutely scandalous and personal "? it's as if we are trying to destroy the kid,"? "?Neville told supporters at "?The Three Lions pub in Manchester.
"He's been criticised for overplaying, but that's rubbish "? for me, if he stops taking the ball, that's when I would be criticising John Stones.
"Some of the criticism he's had has been scandalous from ex-players, who didn't have half the ability he had. I'm talking about players that couldn't pass the ball or control it in tight spots where you have to have composure.
"They say you should defend, first and foremost. But Stones can defend and he can also play football. This kid is going to go right to the very top and instead of killing him we need to back him."?
Neville went on to draw comparisons with England and Manchester United legend Rio Ferdinand for his ability and composure on the ball.
"He is a talent that really excites me,"? he added.
I don't just see him as a top defender in England, but a top defender in Europe, where people are talking about him in glowing terms.
"Why? Because he has what Rio Ferdinand had "? that composure on the ball, which is a rare gift. If he makes a mistake, the next time he gets the ball he keeps taking it and doing the right things and he must never lose that.
"Even if people want to kill him from the outside and kick it into the stand, he must keep playing his way.
"They say he's not learning from his mistakes, but he will learn. He's only 22. The penny will drop and it might be at this tournament. Last season was vital for his development and it might be the one that has made him, his decision-making might be better now.
"I've seen him grow. I worked with him at Everton. He has his feet on the ground, he is level-headed and he is going in the right direction.
"I thought his performance against Turkey at the Etihad recently was outstanding.
"In tournament play, you are going to have to keep possession of the football and you keep possession by building from the back. He is the best in this country at that."?
England have a wealth of attacking options for this summer's Euro 2016, however it's often been said that the Three Lions will struggle in defence without a natural leader in John Terry or Rio Ferdinand.
"The only thing that worries me is that we have to cut out the individual errors,"? Neville continued.
"That's the only thing that has punished the team.
"There are some young defenders in that back four. When you have such attacking qualities you are going to suffer defensively, you are going to be exposed at times and isolated.
"But it's the individual errors that will kill us in this tournament.
"And that's what Roy has got to sort out. He has to drill into them "? cut out those individual errors."?
After notching three wins out of three in Euro 2016 warm-up games England now have to wait until June 11th to play their opening game of the tournament against Leonid Slutsky's Russia.