Kyle Walker is about to become the world’s most expensive defender and the costliest English player of all time, after Tottenham Hotspur accepted a bid worth £53m from Manchester City. The package includes £3m of add-ons and takes Walker beyond David Luiz on the list of defenders and above Raheem Sterling in terms of players from England.

David Luiz cost £50m when he moved from Chelsea to Paris Saint-Germain in 2014 and City paid £49m to Liverpool, including add-ons, for Sterling in 2015.

Walker’s move had been expected, with Pep Guardiola having made the signing of full-backs a priority and making the England international his No1 target at right-back. City are also trying to sign the left-back Benjamin Mendy, who has been left out of Monaco’s squad for a pre-season tour of Switzerland.

The negotiations over Walker have been protracted, with Daniel Levy, the Spurs chairman, feeling empowered to drive the hardest of bargains. Walker was the best right‑back in England last season, according to the Professional Footballers’ Association, which named him in its team of the year, and, at 27, he is not only highly experienced in the Premier League but about to enter his prime.

Levy wanted the basic figure of £50m and City were reluctant to go above £40m but, in the end, they paid up to break the deadlock. They had missed out on Dani Alves, another right-back target, earlier in the week – the Brazilian has gone to PSG, having left Juventus as a free agent – and time is ticking down to their pre-season tour of the United States.

Tottenham are also touring there and they will face City in Nashville on 29 July, raising the prospect of an early reunion for Walker with his former club. Walker travelled to Manchester on Thursday afternoon and will undertake his City medical on Friday.

Mauricio Pochettino knows he needs to generate funds in order to increase the depth of his Tottenham squad and he came to consider the sale of Walker as the best way to do so. The manager has faith in Kieran Trippier, who has been Walker’s understudy, and it was significant that he preferred him to Walker towards the end of last season in the FA Cup semi-final against Chelsea and the league fixtures against Arsenal and Manchester United.

City are in talks over the loan of the goalkeeper Joe Hart, with West Ham United confident they are close to an arrangement. City have also signed Bernardo Silva for £43.6m from Monaco and Ederson for £34.7m from Benfica. Tottenham have yet to make a summer signing.