LONDON: Manchester City are paying Everton a British record for a defender of £47.5m for England’s John Stones.

The 22-year-old has become City’s eighth signing of the summer by penning a six-year deal at the Etihad Stadium, joining the likes of Ilkay Gundogan, Leroy Sane and Gabriel Jesus in Pep Guardiola’s first transfer window.

The move was confirmed on Tuesday morning, shortly after Stones had been included in City’s Champions League squad list on UEFA’s official website, and the fee makes the Yorkshireman the second most expensive defender of all time – behind only Paris St Germain’s David Luiz.

“I just rang my mum and all of family and said, ‘I can’t believe that I’m here, playing for such a big club, the best manager in the world’. It just all seems so surreal,” Stones said on City TV.

Stones, who has been capped on 10 occasions by England, leaves Everton after making 95 appearances in three and a half years having moved from Barnsley for £3million in January 2013.

Bids rejected

The Toffees rejected repeated bids from Chelsea last summer for Stones, the last of which amounted to £30million, when new Manchester United boss Jose Mourinho was at the Stamford Bridge helm.

Mourinho’s old nemesis has managed to tempt Stones across the city, though, with Guardiola depleted in the centre-back region due to injuries to Vincent Kompany, Nicolas Otamendi and Eliaquim Mangala.

“We want to help John show his quality with us and improve on what he has already achieved,” Guardiola said. “I like the way he plays the game and I’m looking forward to welcoming him into the squad.”

And Stones revealed that playing under the former Barcelona and Bayern Munich coach was one of the main reasons why he agreed the switch.

“I always know there’s a lot of improvement for my game personally,” Stones added.

“I think it’s 110 per cent the right decision to play under him. I’m so thankful I’ve got this opportunity to come here, train with the best and improve day in, day out. He’s a winner and that’s what’s going to rub off on everyone.”

Although confirmation of his move arrived on Tuesday morning, Stones was registered on City’s Champions League play-off squad list prior to the midnight deadline.

A UEFA spokesperson clarified that the governing body had automatically published the list given to it by City and that Stones was eligible to feature against Steaua Bucharest next Tuesday.

Two players who were omitted from that squad were Samir Nasri and Wilfried Bony.

Nasri was deemed overweight by Guardiola when he returned to pre-season training earlier this summer while former Swansea striker Bony may have fallen further down the pecking order since Nolito was signed.

World’s Most Expensive XI

GK: Gianluigi Buffon (£32.6m)
Juventus paid a world-record fee for a goalkeeper to lure Buffon from Parma in 2001, with the Italian still number one with the Turin side and with Italy 15 years later.

RB: Dani Alves (£27.5m)
The flying Brazilian right-back was the target of a stealthy swoop by Barcelona on Sevilla in 2008, and spent eight fruitful years at the Nou Camp before moving on to Juventus this summer.

CB: David Luiz (£50m)
The Brazilian is the most expensive defender on the list after his move from Chelsea to Paris St Germain was announced in June 2014.

CB: John Stones (£47.5m)
Manchester City are believed to have paid close to £50million to Everton for the England defender, whose inconsistent performances last season did not put off Pep Guardiola from pursuing a deal.

LB: Luke Shaw (£27m)
Shaw played for England at the 2014 World Cup aged just 18 before joining Manchester United.

RM: Angel Di Maria (£59.7m)
A statement signing in its day, Louis van Gaal felt he had acquired the playmaker Manchester United needed in 2014 after making a huge investment in the Real Madrid player. It proved far from successful, though, as Di Maria was shuffled off to PSG a year later.

CM: Paul Pogba (£89m)
Not a match-winner in the typical sense, but Manchester United believe Pogba will add the midfield quality they have lacked in recent seasons and turn the team into champions again, four years after he left for a tiny fee to join Juventus.

LM: James Rodriguez (£63m)
Real Madrid threw Monaco an estimated 80 million euros (worth #63million at the time) for the Colombian after he dazzled at the 2014 World Cup.

RF: Cristiano Ronaldo (£80m)
Ronaldo developed from a tricky winger into a goal machine while at Manchester United, and Real Madrid shattered the transfer world record in 2009 to land the Portugal star after a long pursuit. He has since become Madrid’s all-time leading goalscorer.

CF: Gonzalo Higuain (£76.5m)
Juventus paid the release clause in Higuain’s Napoli contract this summer to land the Argentinian who last season scored an all-time record 36 goals in a Serie A season.

LF: Gareth Bale (£85.3m)
The Welshman shone in the Premier League and Europe for Tottenham, and Real Madrid had to break the world transfer record to take him to the Bernabeu in 2013. Madrid have secured two Champions League trophies during his three seasons at the club.

TOTAL: £638.1million

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