Joleon Lescott crossed the West Midlands divide on transfer deadline day, making the switch from West Bromwich Albion to Aston Villa on a two-year deal. After completing the transfer, the defender couldn’t hide his delight at finally joining his boyhood club:
“I am buzzing to have signed for Aston Villa. To say I’m excited is an understatement. I can’t wait to get going now. I remember coming on a trial and being told I didn’t quite make the grade so it’s a special occasion for me and my family to finally sign for this club. We now have a young, energetic squad but hopefully I can bring some experience and help it develop over the next few years. I’ve been lucky enough to play with Micah (Richards) both at Man City and with England. I know he can go on and be one of the best centre-halves. I know Scotty Sinclair, Gabby Agbonlahor and Joe Cole too. Hopefully we can all gel in the next few weeks.”
The History
Born in Birmingham, Lescott began his football education at Wolverhampton Wanderers’ youth academy in 1999. After one year of training, Lescott – still just 17 years of age – made his senior debut for Wolves at the start of the 2000/01 First Division (now the Championship) season. He instantly established himself as a regular starter at Molineux, scoring two goals in 37 league ties. The talented youngster was subsequently named as the Supporters’ Young Player of the Year award for performances that belied his lack of experience.
Lescott would miss just two league clashes over the next two terms, bagging six goals in the process. Despite helping Wolves earn promotion to the Premier League for the 2003/04 season, the six-foot-three-inch defender was ruled out for the entirety after undergoing knee surgery. Upon returning to action, Lescott played in all but five of their Championship encounters, adding another five goals to his tally.
Everton snapped up Lescott in the summer of 2006, handing him a starting berth from the offset. The England international featured in every league match during his first two campaigns with the Toffees, netting a career-high eight goals in the 2007/08 season. He racked up another four goals in 36 outings in his final term for the Merseysiders, before moving to Manchester City on 25 August 2009 for a fee in the region of £22 million.
Lescott sat out over 15 matches through injury in his debut term with the Sky Blues and then struggled to cement his position the following season, chalking up three goals and two assists across 22 outings. The 2011/12 campaign at the Etihad Stadium proved to be his most influential in Manchester, harvesting two goals and one assist in 31 appearances (30 starts). His involvement tailed off over the next two years, with Martin Demichelis the favoured partner to Vincent Kompany during the 2013/14 season.
Lescott spent the previous campaign with the Baggies, starting in all but the opening four Gameweeks. Primarily deployed as a centre-back, he was also assigned to left-back duty on occasion. In 34 outings, Lescott carded one goal and two assists.
The Prospects
Despite playing at left-back in the final four Gameweeks of the previous campaign, Lescott’s best chance of securing starts at Villa Park will be in central defence. Villa recruited 21-year-old left-back Jordan Amavi from Nice in the summer and the Frenchman has excelled in these early stages. No player in the league at any position boasts more successful dribbles (15) than Amavi, while only four players across the top five European leagues – including the likes of Lionel Messi (17) and Lucas Moura (16) – can better him in this metric, illustrating his take-on prowess.
Lescott (4.9) will be vying with Ciaran Clark for the right to partner Richards (4.6) at the back. Even in the event that he triumphs in that internal contest and is afforded a sustained run in the side, Fantasy managers will be more inclined to acquire the cheaper Richards, given that Lescott’s potential for attacking returns is similarly limited; once a domineering presence from set-pieces, the Birmingham-born defender averages a goal every 1920 minutes across the last four terms.
Turning our attention towards Lescott’s statistical output last season, he managed 14 attempts at goal, with only three of these hitting the target. Although Amavi (5.0) mustered just three more strikes at Nice, his shot accuracy was far superior (35.3% compared to 21.4%), ultimately resulting in three more goals (four compared to one). In addition, the France U21 international generated over 10 times the number of key passes (32 compared to three) – by virtue of his wing-back role – encouraging prospective investors in Villa’s rearguard to shell out the extra 0.1 for Amavi.
Leandro Bacuna (5.0) also threatens to emerge as the premier route into Villa’s rearguard. The Dutchman was fielded on the right flank last time out against Sunderland and ranks third among all defenders for attempts (five) this term. While he’s unlikely to retain that berth upon the return of Gabriel Agbonlahor and Jack Grealish, Bacuna’s propensity for raids down the right wing is certainly conducive to attacking returns – as evidenced by his five assists in just 983 minutes last season.
The Villains have one clean sheet to their name this term and are faring quite well from a stats perspective: only three teams have conceded fewer big chances (three), while they place in the bottom eight for both shots inside (27) and outside the box (17) conceded.
On a short term basis, then, Villa’s shut-out prospects are fairly promising, with home ties against West Brom and Stoke City over the next four Gameweeks (lei, WBA, liv, STO). From Gameweek 9 onwards, however, a gruelling quintet of match-ups paints a bleaker picture (che, SWA, tot, MCI, eve), with few willing to invest in Sherwood’s new-look outfit over that period.
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