Everton will this week lodge a formal complaint with the FA
alleging that Manchester City made an illegal approach for Joleon
Lescott.
The Blues are set to ask the FA to investigate their
claim that Manchester City made an illegal approach for Joleon
Lescott – and will demand £10m in compensation and a points
deduction if the Eastlands club are found guilty.
City finally landed the England defender in a £24m deal last
night after having two previous bids rejected by the Goodison Park
club. But the cash-rich Sky Blues will also be hit with a huge
compensation claim from Everton if the inevitable FA investigation
finds that they broke any rules. They could also be faced with the
prospect of a points deduction.
Sunday Mirror Sport can reveal that Everton have compiled a
dossier of evidence which they believe will prove City rode
roughshod over rules governing the conduct of clubs in the transfer
market.
An insider at Goodison said their case was “nailed on” and Moyes
– who refused a transfer request from Lescott on the eve of the new
season – revealed that the 27-year-old had initially refused to
play in last week’s 6-1 home hammering by Arsenal.
Moyes has been scathing of the way City and their manager Mark
Hughes have pursued Lescott. He said: “Joleon told me on the Friday
before the Arsenal game that he didn’t want to play.
“I told him that I had no other options or choices and so I
chose to play him. “In the end that worked against me so I took the
decision to leave him out for the Europa Cup game during the
week.
“I would always have preferred to have kept the player. That
would have been my choice because he’s a good player who can play
two positions. “But his behaviour has forced us into this position.
He jeopardised the team spirit in the dressing room. You could see
how we were against Arsenal.
“Joleon's attitude has been so poor that it has had an adverse
effect on the whole squad. “If a player is going to behave in the
manner he did then we have no choice but to keep him away.”
The FA have vowed to crack down on any clubs who are found
guilty of making illegal approaches for players. In 2002, Liverpool
made a £1m out-of-court settlement to Middlesbrough after being
fined £20,000 by the FA for the way they conducted the £5.5m
transfer of Christian Ziege from the Riverside to Anfield.
Boro had initially demanded a compensation figure of £7.5m. Four
years ago it was Chelsea in the dock after manager Jose Mourinho
and chief executive Peter Kenyon met with Ashley Cole without the
permission of Arsenal.
Mourinho and Cole were fined £200,000 and £100,000 respectively
and Chelsea had to pay £300,000 as well as being hit with a
suspended three-point deduction.
Ironically, Chelsea threatened to report City for making an
illegal approach for John Terry earlier this summer but decided not
to act when the England skipper opted to stay at Stamford
Bridge.
Moyes, meanwhile, will now look to chairman Bill Kenright for
guarantees that the cash raised on Lescott will be handed over for
player recruitment.
The Merseysiders must first pay Wolves £2.4m after agreeing to a
10% sell-on clause when Lescott moved to Goodison from Molineux two
years ago.
Moyes said: “I would hope that any money we raise will be handed
over for new players, but I haven’t been given any assurances on
that and so you never know what will happen.
“Even if I do get the money to spend it will be very difficult
to bring in players in the next week before the transfer window
closes.”
Moyes could look to do business again with City during the week
after identifying Richard Dunne as the man to replace Lescott.
Dunne has rejected offers from both Sunderland and Stoke in
recent weeks after being told by Hughes he can not be guaranteed a
first-team place.
The Irishman is City’s longest-serving player, having arrived
from Everton for £3m nine years ago, and wants to fight for his
place at Eastlands. But he also knows that he needs to be playing
regularly in the Premier League with the Republic of Ireland still
hopeful of qualifying for the World Cup.
Everton are also interested in Newcastle’s Steven Taylor, but
have not yet lodged a bid for the England Under-21
international.