Manchester City will have to fork out more than £50million to sign Kyle Walker from Tottenham this summer after Dani Alves’ shock snub, according to a reliable journalist.
Tottenham expert Greg Stobart, the former chief correspondent of Squawka, claimed on his personal Twitter account that Spurs are in an even stronger negotiating position following events on Tuesday.
The Guardian are among a number of media outlets that reported that Alves, 34, had decided to join Paris Saint-Germain on a two-year deal after rejecting a move to City just when the deal appeared done.
Stobart, who is renowned to his close links to family of Spurs chairman Daniel Levy, reported that City will have to now pay upwards of £50million for right-back Walker and that the Londoners are “more than happy” to keep him if their valuation is not met.
Spurs more than happy to keep Walker if City don’t want to pay up. Would think Alves to PSG means they’ll HAVE to stump up £50m+
— Greg Stobart (@gstobart) July 11, 2017
Exactly. Reckon City will now pay what it takes given they have no full-backs
— Greg Stobart (@gstobart) July 11, 2017
City have no senior right-backs after veteran pair Pablo Zabaleta and Bacary Sagna left the club following the expiry of their contracts last month.
BBC Sport claim on their website that negotiations have taken place between Spurs and the Manchester club over a deal for Walker, which has been the subject of intense speculation in recent months.
Tottenham now want to make a huge profit on Waker, who signed from Sheffield United for £6million in the summer of 2009.
The defender has made 229 appearances for Tottenham over the last eight years and was named in the PFA Premier League team of the season for 2016/17 as he played a key role in their second-placed finish.
The Londoners appear to have a solid replacement already at the club in the shape of the much-improved Kieran Trippier.
The 26-year-old, who joined from Burnley for £3.5million in the summer of 2015, has made the most of his opportunities when deputising for Walker in the last two seasons and accumulated 22 appearances in all competitions in the last campaign.
Tottenham have not yet made any senior signings, or sold any players this summer.