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Joleon Lescott is willing to take a pay cut on his £90,000-a-week Manchester City wages to move to Tottenham on loan.

The north Londoners are eyeing up versatile England defender Lescott, 31, to help solve their injury crisis at the back.

Turkish club Besiktas have already moved to offer Lescott some regular first-team action, but he would prefer to stay in England as he seeks to force his way into Roy Hodgson’s World Cup plans.

City’s official line is that they are unwilling to allow the centre-half, who can also play at left-back, to leave as they have a defensive crisis of their own while competing in four competitions, but their position is understood to be weakening.

Lescott knows that if he remains at the Eastlands club beyond this month, he will be behind Vincent Kompany, Matija Nastasic and Martin Demechelis in the pecking order.

As such, he is actively exploring all of his options, with Newcastle and French side Monaco also said to be interested.

Lescott, signed for £22million from Everton five years ago, has made only 13 appearances in the Blues' first-team this season.