For Aidan Morris, there is nowhere better for him to be learning the English game than under Michael Carrick at Middlesbrough.
“He was playing when I was a big Man Utd fan growing up,” he tells Sky Sports. “It’s kind of cool now to be able to work with him.
Growing up in Florida, just before Major League Soccer really started to break through, it was all about the Premier League for Morris.
“Cristiano Ronaldo was my hero, for sure. But when I started learning more and understanding my position, it was guys like Scholes and Carrick.
“But regardless of me being a fan, you see the calibre of the level he played at and the quality he showed. That was a big thing for me in moving here, because there’s just much knowledge there.
“I just try and show up every single day and let him know, ‘give me as much information as you can, I’m here to learn and grow’.
“There are always little details in training, or trying to prepare for the opposition.
“We’re always dealing with teams sitting in a low block. So he’ll give me pointers on how to just pick away at teams like that. To set a good tempo and have a good rhythm throughout the game.”
Before joining Middlesbrough, Morris was in MLS at Columbus Crew where he played more than 100 times.
The highlight, undoubtedly, was in one of his final games for the club last June, when he came up against Inter Miami.
Lionel Messi was sadly missing that day, but he got to go toe-to-toe in midfield with Sergio Busquets.
“It was such a cool experience,” Morris, 23, says. “You could still see his calmness and composure.
“And it was in Miami, so I was able to have a lot of my family out there to the game.”
Within two months of that game in Florida, Morris found himself lining up for Middlesbrough in this season’s Championship.
A knee injury that kept him out for two months over Christmas and New Year aside, he has adapted quickly and become a key cog in Carrick’s midfield.
“There can be a big stigma around the Championship where it’s seen as just crazy, hectic and chaotic,” he says.
“It is, but it’s nothing I feel like I was unprepared for. There is intensity in the MLS, it’s maybe just a different kind of intensity. The MLS can be a little faster
“It’s about being able to control the chaos, and I think that’s the most important thing I’ve learned.
“You never get a pass off without contact. Someone will always be on you, hitting you.”
Middlesbrough, invariably, dominate the ball. They play in the mould of their manager, and it is why Morris was recruited.
“I have to be in an environment where I have the ball most of the game,” he says.
“Don’t get me wrong, I don’t mind doing the dirty work. But it’s a big part of the player I am that I’m able to dictate the game.
“My team was like that in Columbus as well. We were possession-based there. That’s why the move to Middlesbrough was the right one for me.”