Anton follows Rio route to top

Anton & Rio: Ambitious brothers

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Anton Ferdinand is hoping his move to Sunderland will allow him to emulate the achievements of his brother.

The centre-half joined the Black Cats for £8million from West Ham last week, following a similar route to Rio who left the Hammers for Leeds at roughly the same age.

Ferdinand is now 23 and hopes a switch to the North East will see him fulfil his undoubted potential.

Progress

"I spoke to Rio a lot before the move," Ferdinand told the Sunderland Echo.

"He made a similar move at a similar stage of his career, and he told me it was the making of him.

"He's worked with the gaffer (Roy Keane) before and knows how much he could help me progress. I spoke to him about this at length, and he said straight away, 'That's a move that could take your football to a totally different level'.

"I don't want to settle for being second best - I want to be the best I can possibly be."

Challenge

The former England Under 21 international is tipped to make the step-up to the senior fold in the near future, something Ferdinand is keen to achieve during his time at Sunderland.

"The next couple of years are going to be massive for me," he added.

"They will determine whether I get to the very top of the game or not. I'm looking forward to this new challenge a lot, and it's something I needed to do.

"I was at West Ham a long time, and sometimes you need to take on a new challenge to enable your career to move to the next level. Hopefully, this move will help me do that."

Competition

Ferdinand will be hoping to snatch a centre-half berth off Danny Collins or Nyron Nosworthy once he regains full match fitness.

However, Collins insists he will not be giving up his place without a fight.

"I relish the competition - it spurs me on," said Collins

"You have to fight for your place. If you just throw the towel in when new players arrive then there is no point in you being here.

"All I can do is do my best every day in training and out on the pitch and the rest is up to the manager.

"There are six defenders competing for four shirts, so there is a lot of competition and that's something you need in the squad if you are to do well in the Premier League."