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Manchester City's Pep Guardiola says John Stones still has to improve

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Pep Guardiola discusses John Stones development at Manchester City

Pep Guardiola says John Stones still has plenty of improvements to make, despite his impressive performances for Manchester City and England so far this season.

Stones has established an effective partnership with Nicolas Otamendi at the heart of City's defence, as well as becoming a regular in England's new-look three-man defence.

But even though Stones has established himself as such an important player for club and country, Guardiola believes he still has a long way to go.

He said: "He knows that he's improved a lot. In terms of the ball he has amazing quality to understand the game, to be calm, to read the next pass.

"But he's still young, and it depends on him if he wants to be better. Hopefully he can still have the desire to improve. Still he has many things to improve, with and without the ball."

Stones moved to the Etihad in the summer of 2016 from Everton for £47.5m, but Guardiola believes he took his time to settle in Manchester, despite the hefty price tag.

He said: "We cannot forget that last season was the first time he was able to play three games a week, because Everton play once a week.

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"Here, he immediately plays Champions League, and you need a process to settle that.

"To play in the Champions League, you have to live the experience. To be better playing in the Champions League, you have to play a lot of games.

"They have a lot of skills and talent when you buy them, but you have to live situations to realise, 'ok, I can handle this'.

"For that, you need time. I agree in football today you don't have time."

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