There’s no doubt about it, Joleon Lescott deserves his England call-up this summer for Euro 2012.
The Manchester City centre back has formed a solid partnership with the Barclays Player of the year Vincent Kompany and, although there have been some mishaps, City managed to keep the most clean sheets in the Premier League last season thanks to the sterling work of their back-four.
Roberto Mancini though may disagree that City’s back-four is ready for another title run as the former Inter Milan boss was apparently back in Milan last week talking to AC Milan about a potential swap deal for their strongest defensive unit Thiago Silva.
If this is true, Mancini is showing a remarkable lack if faith in the top defense in the nation, and Joleon could well be playing for his job this summer at Euro 2012.
The European Championships were already going to be a tough enough task for City’s 29-year-old defender, but now a poor performance could see Lescott lose his starting spot in the heart of City’s defense.
Mancini may be looking for depth in a squad that already boasts more star names then others could dream of, but splitting up a defensive pairing that seem to be so in tune with each other could be a big mistake.
Not only could it effect Vincent Kompany’s performances on the field, but Joe Hart too my find it difficult to get used to a changed back-four sitting in front of him.
Sometimes it’s better if change is a slow and steady process rather then a drastic one, and City know they already have a winning formula up their sleeve.
Lescott in the mean time now goes into this summer’s with this added distraction looming over him.
A flop at this tournament could see him relegated to the bench next to Mancini for the first part of next year.
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