Aston Villa are eyeing up a loan move for Manchester City's out-of-favour defender Joleon Lescott, according to the Mirror. Lescott's contract at the Etihad is up in the summer and the centre-back has been told by City he can leave this month. The 31-year-old grew up in Birmingham and is a big Aston Villa fan, though played for West Midlands rivals Wolves after graduating from their youth academy. Lescott went on to have a spell at Everton before joining City in 2009 in controversial circumstances after forcing his exit from Goodison Park and completing a £22 million move. The centre-half has made more than 140 appearances for the Citizens in a four-and-a-half season spell, but has since fallen way down the pecking order under Manuel Pellegrini. The ex-Toffees star has not played a Premier League game in the New Year and has fallen behind the likes of Vincent Kompany and Martín Demichelis. His last appearance came against Liverpool on December 26, playing a full 90 minutes in his side's win over the Reds, but has since found playing time difficult to come by. Villa are keen to add Lescott on loan and are willing to compete with West Ham and Fulham for his signature.
Joseph is an accredited football journalist and has interviewed nearly all of the current 20 Barclay's Premier League managers. He is also a correspondent for Bleacher Report and has written for Caught Offside and Give Me Football.
