More progress on Touré, less on Lescott

Another update from Daniel Taylor in Tuesday's Guardian. The deal for Kolo Touré seems very likely, but Everton are less willing to sell Joleon Lescott to us. And so we're having to rely on his kicking up a fuss if we want to snatch him from Goodison Park:

Manchester City are in advanced talks with Arsenal over signing Kolo Touré, although their pursuit of Joleon Lescott remains at an impasse, with Everton determined to hold on to the England international and intent on driving their valuation of the player towards the £30m mark. City, who had a £15m bid for Lescott rejected last week, have yet to return with a further offer and would prefer not to do so until the 26-year-old agitates for a move.

Whether Lescott is prepared to do that remains to be seen, with the former Wolverhampton Wanderers defender running the risk of leaving Goodison Park under a cloud if he seeks to force the issue. Everton, however, have shown no willingness to negotiate hitherto, prompting City to believe that the only way Lescott can be prised from Merseyside without paying way over the odds is through the player making it known he wishes to move on.

Read it all HERE.

It seems like Hughes is set on two - in accordance with over 50% of those who voted in my poll. So it will either be Touré and Lescott next season, or, should Joleon follow Kaká, Eto'o and Terry in rejecting us, Touré and Upson. But if I had to make a prediction, I would imagine that they will both be with us by the end of August.