Nathan Trott is reaping the benefits of being an understudy to England goalkeeper Joe Hart at Premier League side West Ham United.

Trott, West Ham Under-23 goalkeeper, trains daily with Slaven Bilic’s first team alongside the England No 1 and is making the most of the opportunity to learn from his experienced team-mate, who is on loan from Manchester City.

“With Joe’s experience with England and in club football, you’ve only got the option to follow what he does and he’s a great character on and off the pitch,” Trott said.

“He is a great professional and these are people that, as a young player, you must look up to.

“The way he commands and leads the team is on another level. He’s also a top-class goalkeeper.”

The former BAA player is also putting some of the pointers he has learnt from West Ham’s No 2 goalkeeper Adrián to good use.

“They have both helped me a lot,” he said. “I try to take on as much as I can.

“They are very different keepers, so I can take different things from both of them, which is good. Both are mentally tough. They really help me.

“Hopefully I can reach the level they are both at internationally and at club football.”

The 18-year-old goalkeeper has been named in Bilic’s first-team squad for this season.

“Being in and around the first team gives me a different picture,” Trott said. “Being with them has been a great experience so far and it gives me a chance to see all the lads preparing and see how they do that.

“I just try to follow in the footsteps of many people I work with, and Joe’s one of the them.”

Trott signed an initial 2½-year deal with West Ham in January 2016 which has since been extended until 2020 and has established himself as the No 1 for the club’s Under-23 squad.

He has also been capped twice for the England at the Under-20 level, where he has yet to concede a goal, and was a member of England’s squad that won this summer’s European Under-19 Championship in Georgia.