Former Arsenal and England midfielder Paul Merson believes Manchester City defender John Stones should be thinking about leaving the club.
The defender was left on the bench for Man City's 2-0 win over Crystal Palace at the weekend.
Pep Guardiola preferred to deploy Fernandinho and summer signing Rodri at centre half, who are both holding midfielders by trade.
And Merson, speaking to Sky Sports , believes that the time is up for Stones at the Etihad, explaining: “If you were John Stones you'd want to be leaving now, wouldn't you?
"In my opinion, he's fit to play. If he's not fit why is he on the bench? It was a strange one for me.
“Rodri and Fernandinho did well at Crystal Palace but you wouldn't want to play them together at the back for the next 28 games.
“It's one of those Pep Guardiola decisions that was amazing, but it could have gone wrong. It was a big call to leave Stones on the bench.
“From my experience, I'd be asking serious questions if I were Stones. It's like me being a No.10 and a manager putting Tony Adams in my place. I'd be thinking what's happening here?
“A holding midfielder is not a centre-half. This lad is a £50m defender. It's not like he was always there, and Pep just doesn't fancy him as a player - a bit like Mesut Ozil and Unai Emery - it's not like that at all.
“I would say that decision is the final proof that Pep just doesn't trust Stones anymore. It really doesn't look good for Stones.”
