Manchester City may well be regretting selling Jason Denayer as their defensive issues were once again exposed as they fell to a 2-0 defeat against Tottenham Hotspur on Saturday afternoon.

Despite dominating the ball against Jose Mourinho's side, the Citizens slipped to a 2-0 defeat after goals from Heung-Min Son and Giovani Lo Celso, in what were the home side's only two shots on target.

This perhaps highlights that City's defence is struggling once again this season, as Pep Guardiola's side have recorded just two clean sheets in the top-flight so far this campaign.

Therefore, they may be rueing their decision to sell Denayer in 2018 for just £9 million, with the Belgian international opting to join Olympique Lyon.

In the two years since, the centre-back has gone on to make 94 appearances from the French side, contributing three goals and one assist (per Transfermarkt).

Back in 2016, when the defender was on loan at Sunderland in the Premier League, David Moyes was full of praise for Denayer, saying:

“I thought Jason did quite well, not always noticeably. But he’s very quick and I thought he recovered things and got back with opponents. We’ve been needing a bit of speed.” (per Vavel)

Pace is arguably something Manchester City are lacking in their centre-backs, with Jamie Vardy able to take full advantage of his pace when Leicester City won 5-2 at the Etihad earlier this season, with the Foxes striker bagging a hattrick (per BBC Sport).

When considering form this season, City may have been a lot better off had they stuck with Denayer rather than signing John Stones, as the Englishman has averaged a poor 6.57 rating for his performances in the Premier League this season, whilst the Lyon man has earned a much more solid 6.79 rating for his performances in Ligue 1.

Guardiola has previously admitted that he was open to selling Stones in the most recent transfer window and considering he is currently sat on the bench for most games, earning £100k a week, it also would have made financial sense to keep hold of Denayer rather than splashing £47.5 million on Stones, as the Belgian earns just £53k per week at Lyon.

Therefore, it could definitely be argued that City would rather have Denayer than Stones at the club right now and they may well be regretting selling him.