By all accounts Joleon Lescott received a great reception from Everton fans last night in their friendly against Malaga. Lescott played the full 90 minutes and heard his name being sung at the end.
David Moyes added:
“The crowd gave Joleon Lescott a good reaction because they understand that what we are doing is right.
“We’ve been very consistent on this and said Joleon would not be sold. I cannot comment any further than that.”
There’s been speculation that City may make a final bid in the region of £22, but given the resolute nature of everyone at Everton there seems little chance of it being accepted. This is despite Lescott having stated he would like to talk to City. Maybe a written transfer request, which would waive his right to any loyalty payments, might see a change in Everton’s stance but I doubt it, and Lescott is clearly reluctant to go this far. The support of the fans last night will surely have made this even less likely.
So where does that leave City? It was clear on Wednesday night that we need a commanding left-footed central defender and any talk to the contrary is bordering on the deluded.
Sebastien Bassong, who last week was said to be top of our alternatives to Lescott, has joined Spurs.
Matthew Upson is again being mentioned this morning, though his lack of pace makes him as likely to fit into Hughes system about as well as Richard Dunne currently does. The dire financial position of West Ham’s owners may make them more likely to sell than Everton.
Sylvain Distin is being courted by Sunderland, Villa and possibly Liverpool, yet Portsmouth are now saying they won’t be selling. Distin used to have decent pace and crucially he was excellent at moving across to cover left back when they were caught upfield. This is a feature of his game that we’ve sorely missed since his departure, especially with the attacking instincts of Wayne Bridge. If we want him we should move fast.
Brede Hangeland is a name being bandied around by a lot of supporters, but there doesn’t appear to be anything coming from the club. His lack of pace puts him in the same category as Upson for me.
Chelsea won’t be selling Alex, so that’s that.
There seems to be little consideration of players plying their trade overseas in this transfer window. Hughes clearly wants players with Premiership experience who can hit the ground running, so there seems little chance of anyone coming from abroad.
At the moment there’s no outstanding alternative to Lescott, and the question has to be asked as to whether we’ve once again spent to long chasing a player who won’t be coming.
According to several reports Joleon Lescott yesterday asked to be allowed to speak to City in a meeting with David Moyes. Whether this is going to be enough to enable City to complete the signing of our first choice target for the left-sided centre-back position remains to be seen.
Moyes, as we’ve come to expect, is still against the idea and Bill Kenwright is unlikely to go against the wishes of his manager or the clubs supporters. It looks like Lescott will now have to go to the next stage submit a written transfer request, and City may well follow this up with a fresh bid.
There is the distinct impression that Moyes and Kenwright’s will turn down Lescott’s transfer request and Everton are continuing to make it known they don’t need the money. Their likely signing of Philippe Senderos is said to be cover for the injured Jagielka.
The whole thing has stalemate written all over it, and I can’t see City wanting the situation to drag on much longer with the knowledge that second choices Bassong and Distin are being chased by Tottenham and Villa respectively. The canny Moyes may well be banking on City soon running out of patience.
The only thing likely to change this would be for Moyes to decide he doesn’t want an unhappy player on his hands, otherwise I can see City making a move for Bassong before the end of the week.
The race for Fabian Delph’s signature seems to have stepped up in the last few hours with Aston Villa currently looking set to sign the Leeds youngster according to Leeds’ site:
Leeds United can confirm that a fee has been agreed with Aston Villa for Fabian Delph.
Leeds United wishes to place on record our appreciation for the honourable manner in which Aston Villa have conducted their interest in the player.
The club has resisted approaches from other FA Premier League clubs since agreeing terms with Aston Villa.
Having given Villa our commitment to transfer the player (subject to medical), we had no intention of going back on that.
Several clubs including City, Everton, Villa and Spurs have been monitoring Delph for some time and Leeds were reported to have recently rejected bids from a pair of Premier League clubs. City’s interest was confirmed over the weekend by Hughes stating “He is a young player who has been brought to our attention, I’m not sure where we are up to with that because obviously I have been busy with the game [against Barnsley]”.
The Mail among others had us set to offer £10m, but this only seems to have spurred Villa into action, with The Mail now claiming Villa to have agreed an £8m fee.
With the statement on Leeds web site confirming that Villa are now in an exclusive position to discuss terms with the youngster it looks like Delph could be one to get away.
I can’t help feeling that if we really wanted him we would have made our move earlier, however it is unlike Hughes to comment on a player unless we’re set to make a serious bid for them.
My feeling is that Martin O’Neill could well convince the youngster to sign for Villa with a promise of more first team action than he would be likely to get at Eastlands, even if we could offer higher wages.
Video:
Fabian Delph goals 08/09
Even more predictable than Elano’s departure are sensationalist stories of Robinho’s devastation at the departure of his best mate. The Mirror is first to the presses with this one.
Robinho:
“I am very sad to see Elano go because he was a team mate and has been a friend for many years.
“I understand the decision but I always believed that he would be part of this project. I never believed the rumours and I will miss our dinners and meetings.
“I wish and believe that Elano will be king at his new club. City have made some great signings and it has been made complicated for some players.
“But I have spoken many times with the coach and praised Elano but it was the decision of the club and impossible to change.”
Now I don’t doubt that Robinho is sorry to see his compatriot’s departure, but modern footballers, particularly those from different continents are used to such movements. It’s all part and parcel of the game. Afterall Robinho and Elano have said their goodbyes before when they departed Santos. And which of us doesn’t feel a little sad when our best friend at work/college/school leaves for pastures new.
Stories of Robinho’s unhappiness at City and linking him with other clubs has been a regular story for the press since the day he arrived, and will doubtless continue to the day he eventually does bid farewell to Beswick. This is not because he’s about to go anywhere, but because he’s the closest thing we have to a ‘media galactico’, stories about whom can sell copies of hard pressed newspapers and generate page views for their web sites.
It’s tiresome, but an inevitable byproduct of having higher profile players. Liverpool fans have to put up with similar fare regarding Torres and Aresnal fans have the Febregas back to Spain stories.
Robinho has the added bonus for the press of being someone who speaks quite freely. Yes he said he’d score thirty goals last season, and good luck to him in trying to do the same this season. Let’s not over analyse casual comments about winning mentalities or stating the obvious in that Barcelona play good football.
Instead we should be grateful for someone who wears his heart on his sleeve, at a time when homegrown players appear media coached to death – I love watching Wright-Phillips with the ball at his feet, but his post match interviews can readily cure insomnia.