Latest news from the Everton site says that Everton have rejected a formal transfer request from Joleon Lescott.
The player has subsequently submitted a written request to leave the Club which manager David Moyes immediately rejected.
“I have always said that we are not selling any players and that hasn’t changed,” said Moyes.
There’s little more the player can do now. It’s a big step for Lescott as I guess this would have waived any right he had to a loyalty bonus and risked his relationship with both the club and fans on Merseyside.
It’s not a surprise to hear Moyes reject the idea of selling his main central defender a few days before the start of the new season. It’s also hard not to feel some sympathy for the player, but I wouldn’t be surprised if City moved on to Upson or Distin with the new season only days away.
Surely it can’t be true, but if you read this morning’s newspaper headlines you’d be forgiven for thinking we were about to do deals for each of the left-sided central defenders.
To add to the confusion, the stories come from three of the more reliable City writers. Ian Ladyman has an EXCLUSIVE in the Mail that we’re set to sign Lescott:
Sportsmail believes the transfer will be completed in the next 36 hours.
After privately declaring the move all but dead over the weekend, it is understood
City were given encouragement on Monday afternoon and are now hopeful of having the player in their line-up to face Blackburn.
David Hytner in The Guardian follows Daniel Taylor in believing a deal for Upson is on the cards:
Manchester City will encounter little resistance from West Ham United if they follow up their interest in Matthew Upson with a bid of around £15m.
Finally Ian Herbert, who recently followed City in South Africa, writes in The Independent:
Manchester City are ready to move to bring their former captain Sylvain Distin back to the club, as West Ham’s demands for Matthew Upson’s services are proving higher than the Premier League’s big spenders are willing to pay.
Just for good measure The Express has Joleon Lescott “considering handing in a written transfer request”.
If the Lescott deal really is back on, then that would clearly be Hughes’ preferred signing. However until we hear something from Everton to that effect then I’ll have my doubts.
Thirty year old Matthew Upson appears next in line, though Cook is only willing to pay £10m and West Ham are looking for £15m. Talk of City turning their attention to Distin could just be an attempt to lower West Ham’s asking price.
Personally I’d rather have Distin than Upson. He’s taller, quicker and better able to cover for an attacking full-back, which we have in Bridge. We might have to move quick for Distin as several other teams are also interested in the Frenchman.
There’s a lot of speculation that the signing of a new tall centre-half will mean the departure of Richard Dunne, which would certainly be ironic if we bring in Distin. For me our old central defensive ‘twin towers’ could be the best option for taking on the aerial assault at Blackburn. I’d hold 5′ 11″ Kolo Toure back for this one.
As speculation continues that Michel Platini and Uefa may seek to use the credit crunch and the high levels of debt at some clubs as a justification of bringing in salary caps, the new chief executive of the FA has given another negative reaction.
“Anything that makes the competition stronger and more deep, I think has got to be welcomed. We don’t want to see the Premier League becoming a top- four procession every year.
“If in the process of the new money coming into Manchester City  and some interesting, I think different, strategies that people like Aston Villa are adopting  we can get to seven or eight clubs that realistically have a chance of breaking into the top four, it can only strengthen the Premier League, which is to our mutual advantage.â€Â
For City this is good news. Our spending on wages and transfers is undoubtedly going to be very high in relation to turnover for the next couple of years as our owners invest and seek to grow the club. The last thing we need is a salary cap linked to turnover, which would only consolidate the position of the established big clubs and make it nigh on impossible to challenge them.
Chief executive of the Premier League, Richard Scudamore also rejected calls for a salary cap earlier this year. Although not everyone in the Premier League is apparently against the idea. With their current financial constraints the Arsenal chief executive mentioned it recently in an interview with David Conn. Coincidentally the Gunners currently have the highest match day revenues in the country.
Interestingly I saw this article in The Telegraph in February which stated:
Ninety-five of the ECA’s 103 full members gathered in Geneva, ranging from F91 Dudelange of Luxembourg to Real Madrid, and there was remarkable unanimity in opposition to a wage cap.
Smaller clubs baulk at setting salaries at a percentage of revenue because they fear it would allow the richest clubs to continue to dominate. The larger clubs would welcome the chance to spend less on players’ wages, but will not countenance falling behind their rivals.
The political manoeuvring on this topic by Platini is something to keep a watchful eye on. If he was to get his way, it could cause more damage to Sheikh Mansour’s ambitions than any onfield opposition.
Given – Held on well to one shot. Shay probably expended most energy berating his teammates for sloppy defending at corners. 7
Zabaleta – A chance to play 90 minutes in his rightful position and he was excellent. Tigerish in the tackle and put over a superb cross for the first goal. 8
Dunne – Started on left side of central defence and completely lost his man for the first goal. Subsequently returned to right hand side and had no further problems. 5
Toure – It’s a delight to see a City central defender bringing the ball out from the back and making telling passes. The injury didn’t look a major concern. 7
Bridge – Much improved on his defensive debacle at Rangers. Instigated the second goal with a fine run and pass to Bellamy. 7
De Jong – It’s not just the way he tackles that impresses, but the way he tackles and manages to lay the ball off to a teammate. 7
Barry – Brilliantly timed run for the first goal. Total composure in the first half alongside De Jong, then required to work overtime in the second when anchoring midfield. 8
Ireland – Some quality touches and passes, though he tends to get caught straying to far forward when playing in a central midfield two. 7
Wright-Phillips – An improved display on what has been a mixed pre-season. 6
Robinho – Didn’t always get the passes he was hoping for from his teammates, but kept going. 6
Bellamy – Just when it looked like nothing was coming off for the Welshman, up he popped with the second goal. 7
Subs:
Ben Haim – Aside from one needless concession of a corner this was an improved display by the Israeli. 6
Adebayor – This was his most languid performance so far, when few things he attempted came off. 6
Weiss – Provided entertainment for the crowd with some great trickery even if we don’t always get the final ball. 6
Tevez – Warmed up to a huge cheer, and came on to an even bigger one. There were some nice touches and a glimpse of the famed workrate. 7
Petrov – Wasn’t able to influence the game as much as he would have liked. 6
Man of the match: Barry.
