The pair are expected to battle for the starting spot alongside team captain Micah Richards in the heart of Villa’s defence.
Joleon Lescott’s deadline day arrival at Aston Villa was certainly well received by the claret and blue faithful – and with good reason.
The 33-year-old defender joins his boyhood club having enjoyed an impressive 2014-15 campaign with Midlands rivals West Bromwich Albion, in which the helped them record a formidable 15 clean sheets in his 34 Premier League appearances.
That record was only bettered by Chelsea trio John Terry, Branislav Ivanovic and Nemanja Matic and suggests that, at £2 million, he could well end up proving one of the bargain signings of the summer.
Nevertheless, despite showing that he still has a lot to offer the top-flight in his lone full season at the Hawthorns, how much the veteran centre-back features for Tim Sherwood’s side going forward is far from clear at this point.
Former Manchester City teammate and fellow summer signing Micah Richards is currently entrenched in the line-up as captain and, with Sherwood not expected to move him back to his old right-back role, that leaves Lescott needing to unseat Ciaran Clark for a regular starting spot.
However, those who watched the former trainee over the course of last season will know full well how that could prove easier said than done.
| Since start of 2014-15 | Team | Errors Lead To Goal | Errors Lead To Shot | Totals Tackle MINS | Tackle Accuracy | Total Clearances MINS | Headers Won MINS | Header Success | Interceptions MINS | Passing Accuracy | Appearances | Mins Played |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ciaran Clark | Aston Villa | 0 | 1 | 52.24 | 84% | 9.92 | 24.49 | 67.13% | 38.54 | 79% | 29 | 2,351 |
| Joleon Lescott | West Brom | 0 | 1 | 54.92 | 81% | 15.36 | 43.78 | 61.16% | 41.01 | 78% | 36 | 3,240 |
After beginning the 2014-15 campaign as the club’s fourth-choice centre-back, Clark came into the line-up for last November’s 1-1 home draw with Southampton due to a spate of defensive injuries and proceeded to put together a stellar run of form.
Starting all but two of the following 26 games, his impressive showings saw him tipped to win the team’s player of the year award heading into the run-in, before a season-ending knee injury suffered in April’s 1-0 win at Tottenham Hotspur put paid to those chances.
Since making a swift return to the pitch, a couple of high-profile mistakes have overshadowed his solid performances over the first four league matches of this term but, all the same, the statistics over the past 12 months still show that Lescott will have his work cut out to push him out of the line-up.
Since the start of last season, Clark leads his fellow left-footed stopper across all the main individual defensive categories when taking into account minutes played and, at age 25, one would like to think that he still has a fair amount of development ahead of him too.
He still needs to cut out the mental errors which seem to creep into his game on occasions but, if his form since last winter is an indication of what’s to come, then Lescott could well find himself spending a fair amount of time on the bench unless Sherwood opts to go with five at the back.
Of course, the former Manchester City and Everton man may well be perfectly happy with a backup role at this stage of his career and, if he can act as a dressing room leader in Villa’s fledgling squad, then that could prove invaluable during the current rebuilding phase.
With two Premier League titles, 256 top-flight appearances and 26 England caps under his belt, his substantial experience will be a more than welcome addition and, when it comes to third-choice centre-backs, there are few better in the Premier League outside the top six.
Add the promising Jores Okore and Liverpool loanee Tiago Ilori into the mix, and it looks like Villa will have few problems at the heart of the defence this season.
Receive exclusive football transfer news and updates twice a week to your mailbox
