Premier League strugglers West Ham United have agreed a deal to sign Manchester City misfit Joleon Lescott and bolster their beleaguered defence. England international Lescott, 31, is no longer first choice at the Etihad under Manuel Pellegrini since the signings of Matija Nastasic and Martin Demichelis. Hammers boss Sam Allardyce is in desperate need of defensive reinforcements as James Collins and Winston Reid are injured whilst James Tomkins is suspended. The East London outfit landed Wolves reject Roger Johnson on loan this week, but were turned down by wantaway Everton centre back Johnny Heitinga. The Sunday Telegraph revealed the three-and-a-half-year deal that will take Lescott to Upton Park contains a wage of £90,000 per week for the rest of this season. Thereafter his pay packet will be £70,000 whether West Ham stay up or not. Big Sam's Hammers climbed out of the bottom three on Saturday with a big win over relegation rivals Cardiff City. It is not known whether Lescott would welcome a move to the capital, but he is unlikely to win a place in England's World Cup squad if he continues a bit-part role at City. Pellegrini does not want to let Lescott leave the Etihad until after 20 January. City then travel to West Ham for the second leg of their Capital One Cup semi-final 6-0 up on aggregate.
Jamie Clark is a qualified Web Journalist after undergoing professional training at the University of Sheffield. A prolific and accredited sports writer, he also enjoys classic comedy, historic fiction, 80s music and heritage.
