Source: Telegraph
Manchester City seal £22m Joleon Lescott deal after 24 hours of legal wrangling
Despite Lescott, 27, agreeing personal terms and passing a medical in Manchester on Monday, City were forced to hold further talks with the player's representatives before finally wrapping up the transfer on Tuesday evening. [LNB]The England defender has agreed a five-year contract worth £90,000 a week at Eastlands and he could make his debut in the Premier League encounter with Portsmouth at Fratton Park on Sunday. [LNB] Related ArticlesBilyaletdinov relishes Everton chanceMoyes eyes Distin nextCity set to complete Lescott dealAl-Mubarak defends City's transfer policyLescott on verge of £24m City moveSport on televisionCity had hoped to unveil Lescott officially at a press conference on Tuesday afternoon, but talks relating to fees owed as a result of negotiations resulted in the planned unveiling being shelved. [LNB]Manager Mark Hughes is now due to hold a press conference on Wednesday lunchtime, however, alongside Lescott and free transfer signing Sylvinho. [LNB]Everton are closing in on the £5 million signing of Portsmouth defender Sylvain Distin as they begin to rebuild their defence following Lescott's departure. [LNB]Manager David Moyes, who is also keen to sign Middlesbrough's Robert Huth, has sealed the £9 million purchase of Lokomotiv Moscow midfielder Diniyar Bilyaletdinov. [LNB]Moyes said: 'He's a player who I have admired for a while now. I wanted to bring him to Everton in January but it just never worked out. He's a left-sided player and he's actually got a bit of Kevin Sheedy about him.' [LNB]Everton forward Yakubu was due to return to action for the first time since suffering an Achilles injury last November with a reserve outing against Burnley on Tuesday. [LNB]
