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‘Stones should stay, even if Man City sign Koulibaly’ – Lescott urges ‘England’s best ball-playing defender’ to keep faith

John Stones should stick around at Manchester City even if Pep Guardiola brings in Kalidou Koulibaly from Napoli, claims Joleon Lescott, with an out-of-sorts centre-half told he remains “England’s best ball-playing defender”.

That standing has been questioned by many over the course of the last four years.

City invested £47.5 million ($61m) in Stones when snapping him up from Everton in 2016, but have seen him fail to make the intended progress while at the Etihad Stadium, with mistakes still made far too frequently.

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It has been suggested that he could be offloaded in the current transfer window, with Guardiola chasing down other defensive options, but Lescott feels a talented 26-year-old should keep the faith.