The Warm-Up: John Stones, Ashley Williams and Super Cup stonkers

In this post-Pogba world, a sub-£50m transfer barely deserves our attention, but John Stones’ £47.5m move to Manchester City could be one of the summer’s most significant.

After years trying unsuccessfully to plug their central defence with overpriced foreigners, City have turned instead to an overpriced Englishman.

At first glance, it’s a ridiculous move from a team in desperate need of experience and stability.

Stones spent most of last season becoming punchline material as part of the Premier League’s most risibly negligent defence – proof that all the tekkers in the world count for nought if you don’t know where to stand.

And yet... Pep Guardiola thinks he’s good and he definitely knows more about football than any of us.

It is surely a great move for Stones, teaming up with a manager who will encourage his natural game and look sympathetically on the odd defensive rick.

Quite what Big Sam will make of it when Stones starts bossing the rondos and scoring those goals from behind the goal in training is anyone’s guess, but the man’s a pragmatist so we’re quietly confident that Stones’ future is bright.

Everton have moved quickly to replace Stones with the opposite of John Stones.

Ashley Williams brings experience, leadership and commitment; he doesn’t bring technical ability or youth.

Arguably, dropping £12m on a player who turns 32 this month represents a far more reckless outlay than spending four times that on a 22-year-old.

But again, boringly, this makes tonnes of sense. Everton need a player to improve their defence straight away and nobody fits the bill better than Williams.

The UEFA Super Cup doesn’t make a lot of sense as a concept. You’re pitting the best team in Europe against the best team that wasn’t good enough to get into the competition to find the best team – or in this case, the best team to get bombed out of the good competition at the first hurdle.

In theory it’s a guaranteed mismatch – like making Adam Peaty race off against some kid he beat in a Uttoxeter schools event in 2009.

And yet the Super Cup reliably cranks out thoroughly entertaining football. Last night’s game was basically a greatest hits compilation of every good continental final. It had everything bar a shirtless Ronaldo – goals, extra time drama, a red card, Sergio Ramos conceding a penalty, Sergio Ramos equalising in stoppage time and, of course, Sevilla.

The continent’s knockout specialists go now from their third straight European Super Cup defeat to a Spanish Super Cup against Barcelona played over two legs – playing three Super Cup games in eight days.

Poor old Jorge Sampaoli – the man's facing a more arduous start to his new job than the guy in Training Day.

By the way, if you’re a goal up in stoppage time, probably best not to leave Sergio Ramos unmarked here, eh?

After the Stormzy-fronted Pogba extravaganza, the now-legally-mandated 30-second video to reveal the Stones signing counted as some sort of minimalist masterpiece.

Having been scooped by the Champions League squad list, we received confirmation that meanwhile in the City dressing room, nothing of any interest whatsoever was taking place.

Yesterday Nick Miller described just how desperate the situation has become at Hull, but he was wrong. It’s actually much worse.

But most importantly:

That's bleak.

Holy Cow, will you get a load of these Super Cup goals:

-There’s lots more Olympic football (put that ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ away and check it out here) on Wednesday

-Plus more from the freshly rebrand EFL Cup including Fleetwood v Leeds and Luton v Aston Villa, all from 19:45.

-And Celtic (home to Motherwell) are among six teams in action in the Scottish League Cup last 16. Be still our beating hearts.