Stones’ fee a drop in the ocean for big-spenders City

Manchester City appear ready to spend up to £90million this week to sign defender John Stones from Everton and Schalke midfielder Leroy Sane.

But neither deal, should they be completed for the fees quoted, would eclipse the club’s transfer record.

That honour goes to Kevin De Bruyne, for whom City paid Wolfsburg £55m last summer.

The Belgium winger left Chelsea for the German club less than two years earlier for £18m, but looked to have instantly justified his inflated price tag with ten goals before the turn of the year.

He was sidelined by a knee injury in the latter part of the campaign that coincided with City’s dip in form, but new boss Pep Guardiola will be anticipating big things.

Just a month prior to that City paid £49m to take Raheem Sterling from Liverpool, but he only found the net in four Premier League games last term.

By contrast Sergio Aguero, who cost £38.1m to move from Atletico Madrid in 2011, has hit 102 goals in 150 Premier League games, firing the club to two titles.

(Photo by Laurence Griffiths/Getty Images)

Robinho was the £32.5m marquee signing from Real Madrid that followed hours after the Abu Dhabi Group, led by Sheikh Mansour, purchased the club on September 1 2008.

But, should City complete the signing of Stones for upwards of £50m, he would become the world’s most expensive defender and also dwarf the £32m fees City laid out for Nicolas Otamendi and Eliaquim Mangala.