Former Man City star Nigel de Jong has opened up on one of the key reasons why he feels that his old club are struggling in the battle for the Premier League title.
The Blues came into this season on the back of two consecutive league successes but Pep Guardiola's men trail leaders Liverpool by eight points ahead of the latter's clash with Everton this evening.
City have endured surprising defeats to the likes of Norwich City and Wolves, while they also drew against Newcastle United at the weekend.
Defensive issues have been widely cited as one of the club's main downfalls this season but De Jong, who was on Amazon Prime Video punditry duties for City's win over Burnley last night, insists that Leroy Sane's absence has also been hugely damaging.
Sane made 21 starts in the Premier League last season and came off the bench ten times and De Jong says that City have missed the 23-year-old's impact on games.
"One of the players they miss as well is Leroy Sane. He was amazing last season, sometimes from the bench," De Jong told Amazon Prime TV.
"He didn't start a lot of games but when he came on he was always that extra threat. He was also stretching teams out when they were tired."
De Jong added that in Sane's absence, Riyad Mahrez has failed to step up.
"If you look at this season, I don't really see Mahrez really doing that," De Jong added. "He's not really in form and they don't have a lot of options when it comes to players who can give them that bit extra (off the bench). It's not only defensive worries, it's something general in the game as well."
