Manchester City have signed Kyle Walker from Tottenham Hotspur for a reported fee of £50 million, the club confirmed on Friday.
“The right-back joins from Tottenham on a five-year deal and has opted to take the number two shirt,” City said in a statement.
“I am thrilled to be signing for City and can’t wait to get started,” Walker said upon signing for the Sky Blues.
Former Barcelona full-back Dani Alves, most recently at Juventus, had said to be City’s preferred signing but the Brazilian stunned Guardiola and co by signing a two-year deal with Ligue 1 giants Paris Saint-Germain earlier this week.
“Pep Guardiola is one of the most respected managers in the world and I feel he can help me take my game to a new level,” the 27-year-old right back added.
With Alves unavailable, City turned their attention towards the fleet-footed Walker, who is a England regular, and while Spurs were reluctant to sell one of their prized assets but with the Sky Blues sending in a world record bid for a defender, the Lilywhites caved in.
While David Luiz’s £50 million transfer to PSG from Premier League side Chelsea was the highest ever sum paid for a defender, Walker’s fee could eclipse that amount with add-ons and is emblematic of the trend that has taken a hold of the English transfer market.