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Joleon Lescott can be West Brom's new defensive rock

After helping West Bromwich Albion to a clean sheet and a win on his debut against Tottenham Hotspur, hopes are high that Joleon Lescott can be a significant figure for the Baggies this season. Adam Bate profiles a player who has traded life at the top for a different kind of challenge...

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Joleon Lescott’s transfer to West Bromwich Albion should’ve been one of the curiosities of the summer.

Out-of-contract at champions Manchester City, he was joining a club that had finished just one place above the drop zone last season with – according to the most recent published accounts – the fifteenth biggest wage bill in the Premier League. The initial signs are that the Baggies could have picked up a real bargain.

Still just 32 years old, Lescott should be in his prime as a centre-back and his days at the top of his profession hardly belong to the distant past. He was John Terry’s partner in defence for England at Euro 2012, where he enhanced his reputation, and played for his country as recently as last year in a tricky World Cup qualifier in Montenegro.

At club level, Lescott featured 10 times for City in the Premier League last season – enough to pick up a medal back in the days when that was still a requirement for a player to earn one – but the abiding memory of his time at the club will surely be his contribution to the 2011/12 title-winning side. Lescott played 31 times in that successful campaign.

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Nine of the first-choice XI that season remain at the club with only Lescott and Gareth Barry having moved on, although in the case of the left-footed centre-back his exit is understandable. However, the arrival of Eliaquim Mangala is arguably the third attempt after Matija Nastasic and Martin Demichelis to find an ideal replacement as foil for captain Vincent Kompany.

Simple

What City have discovered is that while there are those more comfortable on the ball than Lescott, this is a player who has made a career out of doing the simple things well. He’s not one for the crowd-pleasing crossfield pass. Instead it’s Brian Clough’s famous advice to Roy Keane that he should just pass it to someone in the same colour shirt that has always been Lescott’s mantra.

The result has been consistency. In the 2011/12 season, John Terry, Ledley King, Rio Ferdinand, Per Mertesacker and Jonny Evans were the only central defenders with better pass completion records. The following year it was just Ferdinand, Mertesacker, Jamie Carragher, Martin Skrtel and Steven Taylor. Even with limited action last season, he was still just outside the top 10.

Perhaps more intriguingly, while City won five of the seven games Kompany missed in City’s title-winning season under Roberto Mancini, they won just three of the seven Lescott sat out – including an alarming 3-3 home draw with Sunderland in which the skipper featured. But for an error on the final day against QPR, it would’ve been a blemish-free year. He did the dirty work.

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Image: Joleon Lescott's clearances were a feature of West Bromwich Albion's win at Tottenham

That was also in evidence on his West Brom debut at the weekend as a surprise 1-0 victory against Tottenham at White Hart Lane saw Alan Irvine’s side pick up a long-awaited three points. Lescott himself made no fewer than 10 clearances – more than any other Albion player – in a hugely impressive display that had Baggies fans and officials purring.

“We felt this was the right opportunity to put him in and he played very well,” Irvine told reporters afterwards. “It's terrific if you're a young centre-back like Craig Dawson and you're playing alongside somebody who has vast experience and somebody who can talk you through the game.”

Who should play alongside Lescott? Click here to pick your XI to face Burnley

Indeed, everyone seemed to raise their game with Lescott in the team. Team-mate Sebastien Pocognoli spoke of him “managing the defence” while goalkeeper Ben Foster agreed it was no coincidence that Lescott’s debut brought the team’s first win of the season.

“A lot of lads spark off Joleon,” said Foster. “He has got that bit of an aura about him. All the lads around him raise their game when he’s there. Fair play to Jo, the way he read the game on Sunday was absolutely incredible. His vision is absolutely fantastic and it’s nice to have players like that in front of you.”

Composure

That sort of composure could prove critical for West Brom this season. After all, it was a couple of uncharacteristic errors from Jonas Olsson that saw Lescott make his belated debut and with just five clean sheets in 32 Premier League games prior to Sunday, defensive solidity must be a priority for the Baggies.

West Bromich Albion's Joleon Lescott during during the Barclays Premier League match at White Hart Lane, London.
Image: In action against Tottenham

He already has the trust of the coaching staff having worked with Irvine at Everton as well as his assistant Rob Kelly at Wolves – Lescott winning player of the year awards at both clubs – and perhaps this all adds to the sense that he is comfortable in his surroundings once more. He went to school on the other side of Smethwick just 15 minutes away from the club’s training ground.

After his two previous transfers were clear cases of career progression, this was about playing football. “I’ve been itching to play,” Lescott said following the Spurs match. “Before the game it was probably one of the most excited I’ve been before any game.” Evidently, Albion have got themselves a motivated player anxious to make up for lost time.

If they can follow up with a home win over Burnley in front of the Sky Sports cameras this weekend, Albion could put an uncertain start behind them and find themselves in the top half of the Premier League table. That would do much to ease some of the early concerns over the appointment of Irvine and add conviction to the view that while Joleon Lescott might not have been the most exciting signing of the summer, for West Brom, he could yet become one of the most important.

Watch Joleon Lescott in action for West Brom against Burnley on Super Sunday (4pm kick off, Sky Sports 1 HD)