Joleon Lescott looked a beneficent signing for Manchester City in 2010, but the defender has had a torrid time trying to secure a first-team place with the Citizens since.

Jeopardy

That has left his England international career in jeopardy after he was excluded from manager Roy Hodgson’s latest squad – most likely due to his lack of competitive football this season.

As if lighting a fire under his belly, Lescott recognises he must become an active participant in the English Premier League and is now looking to reluctantly leave the moneybags of the Etihad in order to show his international worth at a different club, according to the Daily Mail.

Lescott cost City a staggering £24million but with only a year left on his contract, it is expected that manager Roberto Mancini will only seek a sum of £4million for the 30-year-old to be cast off elsewhere – losing them an incredible £20million in the transactions.

Pecking order

Not to mention with Mancini revealing the club will seek a high-profile signing of a defender  in the summer, Lescott will only move further down the pecking order and it is thought that Everton and Aston Villa are the two leading interested parties in acquiring his services, according to the newspaper.

In Man City’s early kick off today away at Goodison Park, Kolo Toure was favoured to Lescott – yet another sign that his career with Mancini is coming to an end.

“We should have bought another defender at the end of the transfer window,” admitted Mancini, as reported by the Daily Mail.

“We made a mistake in this case.

“As regards Joleon, he is a good quality man and serious professional player. He has played a lot in the last month.

“I don’t know why he has been left out of the squad for England but all the newspapers have pushed for Rio Ferdinand.”