MANCHESTER, England (AP):

Manchester City reached an agreement with Everton yesterday that paves the way for the transfer of England defender Joleon Lescott to the club for an undisclosed fee.

Both clubs announced the agreement on their websites late yesterday and the deal is subject to the completion of a medical.

Everton had previously rejected moves for Lescott, who submitted a transfer request 12 days ago. The move provoked an angry reaction from Everton manager David Moyes, who said the player was not for sale.

"But since then Moyes has revealed there was a noticeable change in the player's attitude and as a result decided that it is in the best interests of the club if he allowed Lescott to leave," Everton said in a statement.

Worked 'tirelessly'

"Chairman Bill Kenwright has worked tirelessly to get the best deal for Everton, achieving a substantial increase on Manchester City's initial offer."

Moyes may have felt compelled to quickly put an end to the matter after Everton lost their first two Premier League matches, including a 1-0 defeat to newly promoted Burnley yesterday. Lescott was dropped for that match.

He played in the 6-1 loss to Arsenal last week, with many saying the speculation surrounding his departure affected the performance of the entire team.

Lescott, who turned 27 last week, made 113 appearances for Everton and scored 14 goals. He joined Everton from Wolverhampton in 2006, and has made seven appearances for England.

Manchester City have reportedly spent more than 200 million pounds in transfer fees on several players, including Emmanuel Adebayor (Arsenal), Carlos Tevez (independently owned economic rights), Roque Santa Cruz (Blackburn), Gareth Barry (Aston Villa) and Kolo Toure (Arsenal).

City had originally wanted to buy Chelsea captain John Terry, but turned to Toure and then Lescott when the London club rejected advances for the England centre back.