Tottenham and Manchester City agree fee on Kyle Walker

At long last, it appears as if Tottenham and Manchester City have finally settled on a £50 million fee for Kyle Walker.

Though the deal was rumored since well before the season ended and will most likely jump start transfer window spending, Walker’s close-to-finalized move to Tottenham’s Premier League rivals still stings.

Walker, after all, was one of the longest serving members of the current squad. Though he served three loan spells after being bought in 2009 from Sheffield United, Walker established himself in Spurs’ starting XI in 2012.

It was in that year that the Englishman earned the PFA Young Player of the Year award for his efforts at right-back. Walker’s only improved on that early success since then, serving under four different managers and excelling with each. His latest honor came this past season when his name was included in the PFA’s Team of the Year along with Danny Rose, Harry Kane and Dele Alli.

All of which is to say that Walker was very much a cornerstone of this team, and while he won no trophies with the club his legacy will stretch beyond his years of service in lilywhite.

There are more practical considerations at play here though that make Walker’s sale seem much more reasonable — and even beneficial — to Spurs.

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Some might argue that Spurs are losing a lot with Walker’s departure, and that to properly cover for him a good chunk will need to be spent sometime in the six weeks that remain of the transfer window.

Thing is though, Spurs now have the means to do so two or three times over if they need to. Even with today’s transfer market inflated by lucrative TV deals, £50 million is a lot of money. That is £20 million more than Tottenham have ever spent on a single player.

Walker’s valuation was inflated by several factors beyond just his quality on the pitch. He is a full England international, thereby helping City to fill out their homegrown quota. He’s also only just turned 27, meaning he’s about to enter into his peak years as a player.

There’s also the fact that, prior to this announcement, City had only one senior full-back on their roster, Aleksander Kolarov. Gael Clichy, Pablo Zabaleta and Bacary Sagna were all released at the beginning of the summer. With Dani Alves committing to Paris Saint Germain on Wednesday, suddenly City were getting desperate.

Daniel Levy was banking on that precise moment. Even when the Alves deal was still possible, Levy and Spurs had the upper hand. They could dictate prices, and Levy famously unbendable. It was only a matter of time before City buckled themselves and gave into Spurs’ demands.

Even with all the caveats you can muster about Walker’s history with Spurs and his ability on the pitch, it’s hard to argue that Levy’s efforts are not a net win for the club.

Yes, Walker is likely entering into the best years of his career, but thereafter will come the inevitably downturn of aging out. That’s a particular concern for a full-back in Mauricio Pochettino’s system, where a tremendous amount of physicality and durability are expected. With the Argentine already reportedly complaining that Walker wasn’t up for starting two games a week, it was only a matter of time before his usefullness began to dry up.

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So much the better, then, that Spurs are selling Walker at peak value. With stadium prices souring and the need to keep the belt tight never higher, this is through and through a good deal for the north London club.

What happens from here though? Stay tuned as we go over what options Spurs have to replace Walker, and how that £50 million might best be spent.