City set to sign Walker for record £50m

Full-back will be world’s most expensive defender Guardiola also chasing Mendy from Monaco

Manchester City will make Kyle Walker the world’s most expensive defender after agreeing a deal with Tottenham Hotspur that could exceed £50million.

Additionally, City want to follow up the capture of the right-back with the signing of left-back Benjamin Mendy, who has been left out of the Monaco squad for their preseason trip to Switzerland.

As revealed by Telegraph online yesterday, City have agreed to pay £50 million for Walker, plus addons that could bring the final fee to £53 million. Sources have confirmed the figures, despite City claiming they are lower.

David Luiz was the world’s previous most expensive defender, his move to Paris Saint-germain from Chelsea worth £50million in 2014. Daniel Levy, the Spurs chairman, has ensured that City may eclipse that fee.

Walker had been scheduled to return to Tottenham for pre-season training yesterday but will instead finalise his switch to City and undergo a medical before joining his new team-mates for their tour of America. City and Tottenham had been locked in talks for weeks over Walker and Levy refused to drop his £50million valuation.

After missing out on Dani Alves to PSG, City agreed to match Tot- tenham’s asking price instead of risk losing another of Pep Guardiola’s targets.

Walker, 27, fell out of favour under Tottenham manager Mauricio Pochettino last season after having his head turned by City’s interest. He informed Pochettino that he wanted to leave towards the end of the campaign and it was decided that Spurs would allow him to go if their valuation was met.

Pochettino preferred Kieran Trippier for many of Tottenham’s biggest games in last season’s runin and the 26-year-old signed a new five-year contract after playing his way into the England squad.

In Trippier, Pochettino has a ready-made replacement for Walker, although Tottenham are on the lookout for a new right-back. Talks have been held over a £22 million move for Porto’s Ricardo Pereira, but progress has been slow due to a dispute over who represents the player, while Bayer Leverkusen’s Benjamin Henrichs has also been scouted.

Despite strong interest from Manchester United in Eric Dier, Tottenham are adamant that Walker will not be followed out of the door by any more key players.

Spurs will listen to offers for Moussa Sissoko, Vincent Janssen and Kevin Wimmer, but maintain Dier is not for sale. The Argentine defender Juan Foyth is close to joining Tottenham from Estudiantes for £9 million, while Pochettino remains interested in Ross Barkley and Josh King. Everton are also looking at Bournemouth forward King, but are likely to have to drop their £50million asking price for Barkley.

Having finally landed Walker, Guardiola will now turn his attention to adding a left-back to his squad and make a new bid for Mendy. City have failed with one offer for the 22-year-old, but are likely to return with a bid in excess of £40 million.

If they are unsuccessful in reaching an agreement, City will try to persuade Southampton to sell Ryan Bertrand. He is interested in a move to City, but would cost in excess of £30million after signing a five-year contract last summer.