Lescott heading for a bright England future after catching Capello's eye, says Moyes

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The England manager saw David Moyes' vibrant side clinch a 2-0 victory against Manchester City at Eastlands.

Lescott, 25, capped an impressive display with the second goal after Ayegbeni Yakubu had opened the scoring.

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It means Everton have regained fourth spot from Liverpool after extending their unbeaten league run to seven games.

Lescott has won over Moyes - now the versatile defender needs to win over Capello.

The former Wolves star was left out of the Italian's first team when a narrow victory was secured against Switzerland in a friendly.

Moyes, however, baulked at suggestions that Lescott had been affected by the defeat by Croatia which ended England's dream of qualifying for Euro 2008 and saw manager Steve McClaren fall on his sword.

"If anything Joleon has grown in stature, " said the Everton boss. "This is a boy who came from Wolves and hadn't played in the Premier League.

"You should be applauding him from coming out of the lower leagues and into the England team.

"He is a good player - one of the top defenders in the Premier League."

Lescott played at left-back against City but is also at home at the heart of the defence.

He has also taken advantage of being given a licence to get forward and weighed in with eight goals.

Moyes said: "It is incredible really but good centre halves score 10 goals a season in my book.

"They come up from free-kicks and set pieces like Joleon and he is coming close to reaching that tally."

Moyes is also pleased with the way Yakubu has settled back into the side following the African Nations Cup.

The Nigerian striker has had a good week - he scored a hat-trick in the UEFA Cup victory against Brann Bergen - and now sits on 16 goals.

Moyes said: "I always felt that if he scored for us the way he did for Middlesbrough and Portsmouth we would go up another couple of places in the table.

"Micah Richards and Richard Dunne are two top centre halves but he gave them a real tough time.

"They were immense against Manchester United at Old Trafford but Yakubu did really well."

City manager Sven-Goran Eriksson believes it is now a straight fight between Everton and Liverpool for the fourth Champions League spot.

Eriksson's side have taken only seven points from a possible 21 after a blistering start to the campaign.

But he promised: "We have not hung up our boots yet. We will fight until the end.

"There are still 33 points to play for and we would love to play in Europe next season."

Meanwhile, Everton midfielder Mikel Arteta is expected to make a swift recovery from a nagging groin problem and could face Portsmouth on Sunday.

Moyes said: "I do not think it is that serious. He has been going to Spain to see someone and get some treatment.

"He might need a bit more time but I am hoping he will be back on Sunday." The England manager saw David Moyes' vibrant side clinch a 2-0 victory against Manchester City at Eastlands.

Lescott, 25, capped an impressive display with the second goal after Ayegbeni Yakubu had opened the scoring.

It means Everton have regained fourth spot from Liverpool after extending their unbeaten league run to seven games.

Lescott has won over Moyes - now the versatile defender needs to win over Capello.

The former Wolves star was left out of the Italian's first team when a narrow victory was secured against Switzerland in a friendly.

Moyes, however, baulked at suggestions that Lescott had been affected by the defeat by Croatia which ended England's dream of qualifying for Euro 2008 and saw manager Steve McClaren fall on his sword.

"If anything Joleon has grown in stature, " said the Everton boss. "This is a boy who came from Wolves and hadn't played in the Premier League.

"You should be applauding him from coming out of the lower leagues and into the England team.

"He is a good player - one of the top defenders in the Premier League."

Lescott played at left-back against City but is also at home at the heart of the defence.

He has also taken advantage of being given a licence to get forward and weighed in with eight goals.

Moyes said: "It is incredible really but good centre halves score 10 goals a season in my book.

"They come up from free-kicks and set pieces like Joleon and he is coming close to reaching that tally."

Moyes is also pleased with the way Yakubu has settled back into the side following the African Nations Cup.

The Nigerian striker has had a good week - he scored a hat-trick in the UEFA Cup victory against Brann Bergen - and now sits on 16 goals.

Moyes said: "I always felt that if he scored for us the way he did for Middlesbrough and Portsmouth we would go up another couple of places in the table.

"Micah Richards and Richard Dunne are two top centre halves but he gave them a real tough time.

"They were immense against Manchester United at Old Trafford but Yakubu did really well."

City manager Sven-Goran Eriksson believes it is now a straight fight between Everton and Liverpool for the fourth Champions League spot.

Eriksson's side have taken only seven points from a possible 21 after a blistering start to the campaign.

But he promised: "We have not hung up our boots yet. We will fight until the end.

"There are still 33 points to play for and we would love to play in Europe next season."

Meanwhile, Everton midfielder Mikel Arteta is expected to make a swift recovery from a nagging groin problem and could face Portsmouth on Sunday.

Moyes said: "I do not think it is that serious. He has been going to Spain to see someone and get some treatment.

"He might need a bit more time but I am hoping he will be back on Sunday."