Aston Villa boss Remi Garde responds to rumours linking Joleon Lescott with LA Galaxy

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Reports have recently claimed that the MLS club have lodged a bid for the 33-year-old centre-back.

Aston Villa manager Remi Garde has poured cold water on reports linking Joleon Lescott with a move to the LA Galaxy this month, telling Sky Sports that the 33-year-old defender is “fully part of the team”.

The Galaxy were claimed to have made an approach for Lescott this week as they try to replace departed centre-back Omar Gonzalez, who was sold to Mexican side Pachuca last month after helping the club win three MLS Cup titles over the past five seasons [h/t Sky Sports].

However, asked following Saturday’s 1-1 home draw with Leicester City whether the veteran stopper could soon be heading across the Atlantic, Garde told Sky Sports: “No, I don’t know that for the moment.

“No offer has come to my office yet, and Joleon is fully part of the team. He’s the captain of the team.

“I rely on his experience, as you can see with him playing every game. I don’t think that he will leave.”

Lescott originally joined Villa from Midlands rivals West Bromwich Albion last deadline day for a fee worth an initial £1 million rising to £2 million with add-ons and has since made 15 total appearances for the club he grew up supporting.

The Birmingham-born centre-half endured a difficult start to life at B6 before being dropped for Ciaran Clark upon Garde’s November arrival, but he has since broken back into the line-up and produced some solid performances alongside Jores Okore.

He has even been captaining the side in recent weeks in the absence of regular skipper Micah Richards and netted the only goal of the game in Tuesday night’s home clash with Crystal Palace to end their 19-game winless run in the Premier League.

A carless error on Shinji Okazaki’s opener during the Leicester draw showed that age is starting to catch up with him, but having performed well otherwise on the evening, it is clear that he still has something left to offer at the top-flight level.