Former England defender Sol Campbell has insisted that Manchester City centre-back John Stones is a ‘wonderful’ player.

Campbell also believes Stones is under the best tutelage at the Etihad and will develop over time.

Campbell – Stones is a ‘wonderful player’

Campbell, who earned 73 caps for England and represented Tottenham, Arsenal and Portsmouth, feels that Stones will become one of the world’s best.

Speaking about Stones, he said “He’s a wonderful player and I think he’s got one of the best managers in the world to teach him and guide him through the pitfalls of football."

Adding that Stones is "lucky" to be at City, Campbell suggested that "he’s benefitting from having better players around him," saying "I think his decision-making will get better in time.

“Playing in tournaments will allow him to get better. I think his future is bright and long may he continue learning he’s got the environment, the manager and the players around him to hopefully make him into one of the best defenders in the world in time.”

Stones' career so far

The 22-year-old arrived at the Etihad Stadium in the summer for £47.5m after three successful seasons with fellow Premier League side Everton.

Stones made over 20 appearances in three consecutive seasons for the Toffees and won the club’s Young Player of the Season award in 2015.

The Englishman has already appeared on 40 occasions for Manchester City this season scoring two goals and making his first ever appearance in the Champions League.

Stones has already earned 17 caps for England after representing his country at U19, U20 and U21 levels.

Guardiola’s defensive decisions

While Campbell believes Stones will improve with time and become an integral part of Manchester City’s set-up he, and others in City’s defence, have come under criticism this season.

City have had to go large periods of the season without captain and centre-back Vincent Kompany and Kompany makes a huge difference to Pep Guardiola’s side the Spanish manager will know he can’t rely on the Belgian to play every week.

Also, players such as Gael Clichy, Bacary Sagna, Aleksandar Kolarov and Pablo Zabaleta are all heading towards the twilight of their careers.

Guardiola has already indicated he wishes to improve his defensive options with the pursuit of Holger Badstuber in January alongside rumours he has agreed a contract with Schalke defender Sead Kolasinac.