The Portland Timbers' Reported Joleon Lescott Move is a Longshot

Asked about the Portland Timbers' reported offer to Joleon Lescott, a source with the team told Stumptown Footy that no deals are imminent, but that the Timbers are going shopping this summer. That is in line with the Timbers' previously stated ambitions to shore up their squad in the summer transfer window and quotes from Gavin Wilkinson following Futty Danso's trade earlier this morning.

Wilkinson was quoted in the team's press release, saying, "A move like this with such a well-liked and respected player is never easy, but as we look to strengthen the group in the summer, we needed to create roster and cap flexibility."

The Timbers are on the hunt for a new defender who could be the keystone that holds their back line together after its repeated struggles this year. Lescott could potentially be that player, but several factors stand in the way.

According to Twellman, the Timbers' have offered a salary of $2,000,000 per year to Lescott, less than a third of the almost $7,500,000 that he was making with Manchester City.

Reports from the Mirror have Lescott in talks with a number of clubs in Europe, but willing to take a fifty percent pay cut to stay in England. Unfortunately for the Timbers, that rumored pay cut would still leave him with a salary almost twice what the Timbers have offered.

The reported reasoning behind Lescott's willingness to take a pay cut to stay in England is his desire to keep his family in one place, rather than uprooting him, another potential strike against a Timbers bid.

While the Timbers are far from ruled out as the bids for Lescott's services come in, they will need to put forward a compelling presentation to lure him to Portland.