Lescott nets Wolves £250,000

Joleon Lescott" class="imageframe alignright" height="130" src="http://www.shropshirestar.com/wp-content/uploads/2007/10/lescott.jpg" width="175"/>Wolves are set for a six-figure windfall after Joleon Lescott became the club's first homegrown player for nearly 34 years to play for England.

Quinton-born Lescott came on at half-time in the 3-0 Wembley win against Estonia - the first since legendary striker John Richards in November 1973.

And under the terms of the £5m deal that took him to Everton another payment will be triggered by his weekend England bow.

The club are staying tight-lipped on the size of the windfall, but sources close to the player estimate the cash payment at £250,000.

Academy director Chris Evans today revealed his pride after seeing Lescott make his deserved international debut - on the same weekend that fellow graduate Robbie Keane led the line for the Republic of Ireland against Germany.

"It was a very, very proud moment to see Joleon representing England - and I'm sure all of the Academy staff who contributed to his development felt the same," he said.

"His England debut is a real testament to the hard work that went into Joleon's development. We always had confidence that he would go to the top of the game but it is still a fantastic achievement.

"Even though he now plays for another team Joleon remains a wonderful ambassador for Wolverhampton Wanderers and a perfect example of the Academy's unique selling point.

"At Wolves he got the perfect opportunity to play first team games, which is not something he would have got if he had joined a Premiership club."

And he revealed today that the club nearly lost Lescott to Midlands rivals Derby at the age of 15.

"After his car crash Joleon decided to take a break from football but we retained his registration because we knew what a fine player he would become. But at under-16 level he played against us for Derby County - even though he was our player."