Fans cry conspiracy after John Stones transfer announcement fiasco

Manchester City have confirmed the signing of Everton defender John Stones.

They may have been beaten to the punch by Uefa (though it was perhaps their own fault), but the deal was made official on Tuesday morning. https://twitter.com/ManCity/status/762950222192443392 Stones has reportedly set City back £47.5,m, which would make him the world's second most expensive defender (David Luiz cost Paris Saint-Germain £50m when he joined from Chelsea in 2014). But some are suspicious of the timing of the deal, announced less than 12 hours after Manchester United confirmed their record-breaking move for Paul Pogba. https://twitter.com/realsport101/status/762946573785567233 https://twitter.com/Cams_01/status/762937277676974080 https://twitter.com/MaxwellwithaK/status/762939647571918848 https://twitter.com/smithyd78/status/762952514157314048

Though maybe it was United's other club who conspired to screw over their neighbours.

https://twitter.com/oharaa/status/762952533061079040 https://twitter.com/Riico_W/status/762953701325766656

Or, as JOE's new chief football writer Tony Barrett explains, perhaps it was to do with a different transfer deal (albeit one which still hasn't been confirmed at the time of writing) and nothing at all related to Pogba.

https://twitter.com/TonyBarretTimes/status/762956186048135168

There was some praise for City's more understated approach, even if it was almost certainly not what the club planned.

https://twitter.com/Priya8Ramesh/status/762938652821295105 https://twitter.com/Kingkeir/status/762937847351537664

But they could have gone one step further if they'd really wanted to.

https://twitter.com/NickMiller79/status/762937122273845248 Stones has signed a six-year deal with City, and joins fellow new arrivals İlkay Gündoğan, Nolito and Oleksandr Zinchenko in the club's squad for Pep Guardiola's first season in charge. Two more new arrivals - Marlos Moreno and Aaron Mooy - have been instantly loaned out, while Gabriel Jesus will join officially in January after the completion of the Brazilian domestic season. There's plenty of optimism about the 22-year-old, an unused member of England's Euro 2016 squad, as he looks to get over a mixed final season at Goodison Park. https://twitter.com/PeteSharland/status/762953484098560005 https://twitter.com/JanAageFjortoft/status/762951936274526208 Read more from SportsJOE: