Manchester City had no sooner completed the signing of
Kolo Touré from Arsenal last night than a fresh £19 million bid for
Joleon Lescott, the Everton defender, was submitted.
Touré became City's fifth significant signing of the summer,
with the £14 million deal taking the club's spending spree over the
past eight weeks to almost £100 million.
The Ivory Coast defender, 28, has signed a four-year contract
that will more than double his wages to £90,000 a week, although
City may have their work cut out trying to lure their sixth and
final target, with Everton immediately rejecting the improved offer
for Lescott out of hand.
David Moyes, the Everton manager, believes that Lescott is worth
about £30 million - similar to what Manchester United paid Leeds
United for Rio Ferdinand in 2002 - and will not consider selling
the England defender unless City get close to that valuation,
although the situation may come to a head if the player decides to
submit a transfer request.
Lescott is thought to be reluctant to do that, not least because
of how it would be perceived by Everton's supporters, but the
defender is known to want to talk to City.
Nedum Onuoha, the City defender, had been linked with Everton as
part of a swap deal but he ended speculation about his future by
agreeing a new five-year deal worth a basic £30,000 a week
yesterday.
In some respects, City may have created a rod for their own back
by starting the bidding for Lescott at £15 million. Although that
sum is about three times what Everton paid Wolverhampton Wanderers
for Lescott in June 2006, Moyes might point to the fact that
Liverpool paid £18.5 million for an England international, Glen
Johnson, who can only play at right back.
By contrast, Lescott, 26, can operate at centre half and left
back, and, like Johnson, still has his best days ahead of him.
Furthermore, it might cost Everton between £15 million and £20
million to find a suitable replacement and even then there would be
no guarantees that Moyes could find one with a little more than a
month before the transfer window closes.
Matthew Upson, the West Ham United and England defender, has
been touted as a possible replacement if Lescott did leave.
Everton are thought to have become irritated by City's pursuit
of Lescott, not least because they have stated publicly on several
occasions that the player is not for sale. But while some will view
that as a tactic intended to drive up the price, Moyes is reluctant
to sell to a club Everton will be in direct competition with next
season.
City's move for Touré proved far less complicated, with the
defender becoming the second arrival from Arsenal, after Emmanuel
Adebayor, the Togo striker.
“I am delighted to welcome Kolo to Manchester City,” Mark
Hughes, the City manager, said. “It is no secret that we have been
looking to strengthen our defence, and in Kolo I feel we have
recruited a world-class player.
“He brings a wealth of Premier League experience from his seven
seasons with Arsenal. Kolo has been a central figure in a very
strong Arsenal team for many years and I have been an admirer for a
long time. He is strong, quick, reads the game well and will be an
influential figure in the dressing room.” Valeri Bojinov, the
Bulgaria striker who has been plagued by injury since joining City
from Fiorentina for £6 million two years ago, is on the verge of
joining Parma on a season-long loan.
Bojinov has made only three league starts for City after being
sidelined for long periods, first with a cruciate knee ligament
injury, then a snapped Achilles tendon, and the arrival of Roque
Santa Cruz, Carlos Tévez and Adebayor this summer has pushed him
farther down the pecking order.
