John Stones moves to Manchester City from Everton via Royal Blue Mersey
The England defender has been sold for £47.5m, with £2.5m in add-ons.
Manchester City have finally completed a deal to sign Everton defender John Stones.
The fee is believed to be in the region of £47.5m though that could rise to £50m including add-ons.
Initial fee for Stones: £47.5m
Add ons: £1.25m each time City win CL during his time at the club (max twice)
Total could therefore be £50m
— Paul Hirst (@hirstclass)
August 9, 2016
The deal ends a summer-long quest by City to land the England international and leaves Everton short of defensive cover with just four days to go until the new Premier League season.
Everton were always reluctant sellers but made it clear to Man City that any deal would only start at £50m, especially with the Blues then having to pay 15% of the transfer fee to Barnsley who they had originally bought the player from.
In the end it seems the initial fee has been knocked down during the negotiations but could well hit £50m depending on Stone’s and Man City’s progress over the next few seasons.
Speculation had intensified early on Tuesday when Stones was named in Man City’s Champions League squad, despite no deal yet being announced.
It also added a touch of farce to what was already becoming a tedious transfer saga, coming as it did just 12 months after Chelsea’s botched attempts at signing the defender.
Now the deal is done though Everton can’t sit around feeling sort for themselves. Ronald Koeman and Steve Walsh must act quickly to bring in replacements.
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