Man City confirm £47.5m Stones signing

Manchester City have confirmed that they have signed John Stones from Everton this morning.

The 22-year-old England defender becomes the latest in what is becoming a long line of summer signings at the Etihad this summer, with the BBC reporting that the Citizens have paid a monumental £47.5 million fee for the former Barnsley player.

That fee could yet rise to as much as £50 million, with Everton due an additional £1.25 million for every time City win the Champions League during Stones' stay, up to a maximum of two instalments.

Barnsley will also receive around £7 million due to a sell-on clause inserted into the deal that took Stones to Everton from the Tykes as a teenager.

New City manager Pep Guardiola was known to be keen to bolster his defensive options ahead of the new season. City have spent around £70 million on Nicolas Otamendi and Elaquim Mangala in the last two years, but neither defender has convinced in the Premier League, while captain Vincent Kompany has struggled with a series of injuries.

Stones has become Guardiola's seventh summer signing following the arrivals of youngsters Alexandre Zinchenko, Leroy Sané, Marlos Moreno and Gabriel Jesus, as well as veteran Spanish winger Nolito and German playmaker Ilkay Gundogan.

The deal for Stones sees the young Englshman become the second most expensive English player ever, behind only Raheem Sterling, who City bought for £49 million from Liverpool last summer.