The Scottish Sun reports that Ladbrokes Premiership side Rangers are hoping to tie up a deal to sign Aston Villa centre back Joleon Lescott. The defender is out of favour at Villa Park and free to leave the Sky Bet Championship club. Gers boss Mark Warburton is keen on snapping up the player, who celebrates his 34th birthday today.
Former Brentford manager Warburton is keen to bolster his centre back position to provide competition for Clint Hill, Rob Kiernan and Danny Wilson. The experienced defender, who has 26 England caps, is someone he believes firmly fits the bill.
Although the former Wolves youngster remains under contract with the club, he is said to be in discussions to agree a severance package so his contract can end earlier. This would then free him up to join another club, with Rangers seemingly the front runners.
Rangers recently handed a trial to former Arsenal and Fulham defender Philippe Senderos. He is training with the club with the view to earning himself a contract. Warburton however has preference for Lescott, whose experience could be vital in challenging Celtic for the league title.
Lescott was part of the Villa team which were comfortably relegated from the Barclays Premier League last season. He made 33 appearances in total, which includes a few appearance for West Brom, which whom he started the season with. He has yet to make a single league or cup appearance for Villa this season.
