Martin O’Neill has hailed Martin Laursen as Villa’s very own John Terry.

The Danish international was handed the skipper’s role in place of Gareth Barry at the start of the season and has quickly established himself as Villa’s ‘captain fantastic.’

Not least in Sunday’s 3-2 victory at Everton, where he was a rock at the heart of defence.

O’Neill admits he sees similarities between the former AC Milan centre-back and Chelsea skipper Terry.

The manager said: “He has many similar attributes to John Terry. He is a centre-half who likes to come and head it.

“When people see a performance like he put in at Everton, a player coming to head things, they get excited by it, but expect that of him now. That is a really big part of his game.

“He gives us a lot of inspiration because when the ball goes into the penalty area, defensively, there is a chance he will be pretty close to it.”

Laursen’s value to the team is almost immeasurable, according to the Villa boss, and it is all the more impressive considering the knee injuries which nearly brought a premature end to his career.

He said: “Martin’s performances are all the more remarkable, because two years ago he had such a serious injury that you would have thought that there was a good chance that he probably wouldn’t have played again.

“Certainly if he did play again you’d have thought that it couldn’t be to the level that he is at the moment. His determination to do so was the main thrust of it all.”