Vincent Kompany on Man City's defence, John Stones, Liverpool and the title race

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James Robson @jamesrobsonES12 September 2019

Vincent Kompany claims Manchester City don’t need to replace him - despite Pep Guardiola’s attempts to sign Harry Maguire.

Guardiola has made no secret of his desire to recruit Maguire after Kompany’s decision to walk away from the Premier League champions on the back of last season’s domestic treble.

But City couldn’t compete with Manchester United’s bid of £80million, which made the England centre-back the most expensive defender of all time when he signed from Leicester City.

Guardiola revealed last month that he didn’t have the funds to bring in any cover at central defence, which has now left City short following a knee injury for Aymeric Laporte, keeping the France defender out until the New Year.

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But Kompany insists his former club have enough quality at the back with John Stones and Nicolas Otamendi as well as Laporte.

“Three world-class centre-backs is awesome by any standard,” he said. “In the past we had the luxury of four. I’ve not seen many teams have four top, top centre-backs. It wasn’t normal.

“It only happened because of circumstance: ‘OK, Vinny could break down, so we’ll bring in another one.’

“You saw throughout the season that no matter which pairing played it was always solid. Most clubs aren’t advised to do it and have three.

“Most clubs run with three world-class centre-backs and a young one. City have got unlucky with an injury, that’s it.”

Fernandinho will be used as cover, but Guardiola will be hoping Stones and Otamendi can remain largely injury free during Laporte’s absence.

Stones is expected to return from a thigh injury for City’s trip to Norwich City on Saturday.

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Yet the England international’s form is another concern after struggling for consistency over the past two seasons.

However, Kompany has no doubt about his quality.

“I’ve always said John is one of the most talented defenders,” he said. “He’s got such a bright future. He’s already achieved a lot, let’s not forget that.

“He’s not a young defender anymore that hasn’t got any experience. He’s a multiple Premier League-winning central defender that is growing and the one thing I wish for him is consistency - consistency of games and consistency of fitness - and then he will show the world how good he is.

Dejected: John Stones' error led to the Netherlands netting a decisive second goal against England
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“By the end of it, if City can win a Champions League or something, all of a sudden he’ll be mentioned in a completely different category.

“He just has to get himself on the pitch, be himself and he’ll be fine.

“I’ve not seen signs of weakness I need to be worried about. He’s just a top-class defender. If now he gets to play games things will sort themselves out, no doubt.”

Kompany was back at the Etihad on Wednesday for his testimonial, which he was forced to sit out of due to a hamstring injury.

Vincent Kompany testimonial: Man City Legends vs PL Legends

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Afterwards he gave an insight into his decision to leave and take over as player-manager at Anderlecht.

He said: “I did my time. It wasn’t even hard not to play in the testimonial because my moment was against Leicester (his winning goal in last season’s title run-in). I can’t come here and do anything more than that.

“I’m proud watching them play, doing the amazing things I know they are capable of. The manager has got this machine in motion. It’s unbelievable. I know these guys.

“How many more battles can you fight? It was pushing the odds.

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“I’ve been flying in Belgium in terms of playing ad I’ve still got a lot to give, but I felt to compete at City is a different ball game. You need to wake up every morning and just be at your physical peak.

“There aren’t many places around the world like that, but the demand here is as such. I would never have accepted a decline from myself.

“I’m a competitor, I’ve proven beyond what anyone expected that I was able to come back.

“Experience helps and as an athlete I feel great. I just felt that was it. For me it was the right time.

“I had an incredible opportunity to go back to a club that needed completely rebuilding. That was a challenge that was completely out of the box, but just as big as what I was offered at City.”

Back in the Premier League, Kompany believes City and Liverpool are untouchable at the top.

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“My opinion is that, at the moment, it’s very difficult for the other clubs to compete because Liverpool and City are well-oiled machines,” he added. “Each player knows what to do.

“It seems that even if they don’t have a great day it’s still a comfortable game and there are not many teams in recent history who have been able to have comfortable games in the Premier League.

“Don’t get me wrong - there’s a lot of preparation that goes into it, it’s not a comfortable build-up, it’s a game with a lot of danger, but these two teams have been so good at nullifying the danger from the other teams.

“I don’t see the other teams being able to do that yet. City and Liverpool have a huge volume of games which you can expect them to win and that gives them a massive advantage when it comes to overall league tables.”

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