The faith Hughes has in the 27-year-old's ability is the reason why he was prepared to risk the wrath of David Moyes by continuing his pursuit of Lescott long after his manager at Everton had made it perfectly clear there was no interest in doing a deal.

Eventually, Hughes got his man, who is set to make his debut at Portsmouth on Sunday. And he is confident Lescott will prove the equal of John Terry or Rio Ferdinand once he settles into his new surroundings.

"Joleon is arguably the best centre-half in the Premier League and can be for a number of years," said Hughes.

"Some transfers are completed relatively quickly, others take longer. This has been one of the latter cases but the fact we kept pushing for it is indicative of my view on the player."

Now happy with life at City, Lescott does not want to spend too much time talking about his old club.

Yet the former Wolves star has been accused of having a bad attitude by Moyes, who felt he made a mistake playing the defender in Everton's 6-1 home hammering by Arsenal on the opening day.

"I was disappointed in the comments about my attitude because they were not accurate," he said.

"I felt I conducted myself in the right way. If the players at Everton didn't think so I apologise.

"I also thought the criticism of my performance against Arsenal was a little bit unfair.

"I know it wasn't my finest performance for Everton. But I didn't think it was my worst either. It was a collective performance and Arsenal were better than us on the day."

Lescott will not be considered for tonight's Carling Cup tie at Crystal Palace, when Hughes is expected to field a strong side as City begin the task of ending a trophy drought that extends back to 1976.

But he can't wait to get involved, believing he has swapped a club who could get near the top four without smashing the glass ceiling that keeps the elite at arm's length, for a club that can.

"I see the future being brighter here than Everton," he said.

"Everyone outside the top four are aiming for the same thing but I think Manchester City are more equipped to get there faster than Everton. That is why I made the change."