Last updated on .From the section Man City

Pep Guardiola's Manchester City side are 13 points clear at the top of the Premier League before their fixture at Stoke on Monday

Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola believes the England national team would benefit from more players going abroad during their careers.

England have not had a non-UK based player in a squad for a major tournament since David Beckham and Owen Hargreaves at the 2006 World Cup.

Guardiola cited Spain's international success with Premier League players.

"When they came back into the national team, they were stronger. They were better," Guardiola said.

"They did very good things that helped Spanish football. Could that benefit the England team? I think that's true.

"I think it's a good experience to move to another country and see different realities to your own."

There are a smattering of young English players in Europe's top five leagues including former City winger Jadon Sancho at Borussia Dortmund.

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Everton winger Ademola Lookman is on loan at RB Leipzig while West Ham defender Reece Oxford is on loan at Borussia Monchengladbach.

Guardiola believes the wages on offer in the Premier League play a major role in discouraging players from having a spell overseas.

The 47-year-old also thinks the Premier League 2 competition, for Under-23 players, needs to be stronger.

"I think the Premier League is a wealthy league and maybe the English players prefer to stay," Guardiola added.

"For me, the most important thing is to make the second-team league stronger. Without that, it will be tough for the English national teams. That is my personal view."