Former Liverpool defender Stephane Henchoz has questioned John Stones' future at Manchester City.
Stones joined City from Everton for £47.5m last summer, but has struggled with consistency.
Henchoz told talkSPORT: “The problem with defending in the Premier League these days is we've shifted the balance.
“When you spoke about centre-backs before, they needed to win the tackles. They needed to win the challenge in the air or on the floor, and if they clear it out into the stand, that's OK. No problem, it's their job.
“But now we speak about playing from the back, playing along the floor, getting the ball from the keeper and playing it out to midfield.
“I think it's gone too far. The players now, yes they can play from the back, but the problem is they can't defend.
“If you need an example, for me, it's John Stones.
“Everybody says he's a great prospect and Man City spent £40million on him last year from Everton, but I'm sorry - he's very comfortable on the ball, but he can't defend.
“One-on-one, he can't defend. That's why he hasn't done so well at Manchester City and I'm not sure he's going to play next year.
“So that's why in the Premier League you've seen so many soft goals being scored - there are big mistakes being made because there are defenders who can't really defend."
Source: tribalfootball.com