David Moyes hasn’t had any sort of financial luxury since taking charge at the Stadium of Light. One look at the summer transfers pretty much sums that up. The major chunk of the summer transfers was loanee and free transfers. And to Moyes’ misfortune, most of the first team players remained injured for the most part of the first half of the season.
Now, with the club struggling to escape the relegation zone, the club has announced a financial crisis leaving Moyes with almost the same options of either getting free agents or bringing players on loan. And the first free agent to join Sunderland is Premier League veteran Joleon Lescott.
According to Sky Sports, Sunderland have signed former Manchester City and Aston Villa defender on a short-term deal until the end of the season. The 34-year-old English defender had been without a club since he left Greek side AEK Athens in November, where he stayed less than three months.
Sunderland’s defence has been pathetic for the most part of the season so far with the Black Cats conceding a staggering 42 goals in 22 league games so far. Patrick van Aanholt and Lamine Kone has been the only positives for Moyes so far and now with Kone away at Africa Cup of Nations, Everton is finding it difficult to keep a solidity in the backline.
Moyes has been linked with Everton’s Phil Jagielka and Bryan Oviedo and Liverpool’s exiled defender Mamadou Sakho. But, apart from their handsome wage structure, Sunderland’s poor league position has been a big hindrance in landing them. The Black Cats sit bottom of the table, three points from safety and are without a win in their last seven matches in all competitions.
Lescott’s major challenge has been keeping match fitness sitting out of the game repeatedly. The defender featured 33 times for Aston Villa last season, but could not stop his boyhood club from suffering relegation to the Sky Bet Championship.
However, no one can deny the immense quality and experience the player has in the top level of English football. A Wolverhampton Wanderers youth product, Lescott moved to Everton in 2006 when Moyes was the boss there. A three-year stint there ended with cash-rich Manchester City knocking at the door, where he spent his next five years. He moved to West Bromwich Albion in 2014 on a free transfer and then to Aston Villa last season.
He has played 286 games in the Premier League, where he scored 24 goals and registered 11 assists. He becomes David Moyes’ first signing in the January transfer window and could well make his debut against Crystal Palace in the Premier League next week.
