Tomas Kalas has revealed that John Terry has always been his role model as the two prepare to clash on opposing teams as Fulham meet Aston Villa on Saturday.

The pair were at Chelsea together for a number of years, with Kalas making his Premier League debut for the champions in place of John Terry in 2014 when they beat Liverpool 2-0 at Anfield in that memorable game.

Terry is one of football's greats and has won nearly everything there is to win, and the on-loan Chelsea man has spoken of his admiration for the 36-year-old central defender ahead of the two club's clash on Saturday at Villa Park.

As a centre back, there aren't many better people to learn from than Terry, something that Fulham's loan star agrees with as he reveals he was eager to learn from the former England captain while they were at Chelsea together.

He said: "He was always my role model so I was following him and there wasn't many better central defenders.

"Even though he's relatively older he can use his experience and so long as he can run and can be on the pitch I'm sure that he can stay there.

"He can be a massive help for Aston Villa in crucial moments because he can use his experience and he has been in these situations far more than anyone in that team.

"When we were doing tactical work he would tell me what to do and what not to do, and I still remember that and I'm trying to use that on the pitch.

"I was listening to him because who else would you listen to if not John Terry?"

Kalas made his Premier League debut for Chelsea in place of Terry, who was injured as the Blues beat title chasing Liverpool 2-0 at Anfield to put a dent in their league aspirations - a game the Czech international looks back on with fond memories.

He added: "He [Terry] was supporting me all the way but I didn't expect to play, it just came out of nowhere and I don't know if it was because we didn't take it that seriously because we knew that we weren't playing for anything and they were playing for everything so we couldn't lose.

"I enjoyed that game and I will remember it forever."