Roberto Di Matteo: Joleon Lescott's Aston Villa exit stalled over personal terms

The 34-year-old centre-back had looked set to end a nightmare 12 month stay at Villa Park with a move north of the border, only for the deal to fall through at the 11th hour.

Despite reports the former Albion and Everton defender had failed his medical, Di Matteo insisted that was simply not the case, claiming Lescott had simply decided against the move.

"He passed the medical, he just didn't agree on personal terms," he said.

Lescott, who joined Villa from the Baggies in a £2million deal last September, has been told he can leave the club by Di Matteo, who has spent the summer revamping a squad which finished rock bottom of the Premier League last term.

Another player the manager is looking to move on is Spanish winger Adama Traore. The 20-year-old joined Villa from Barcelona in a £7million move but has told Di Matteo he wants to leave.

"He has expressed wishes to me that he wants to move on," said Di Matteo. "He doesn't want to be a part of our project.

"So it is a very simple decision for me, I want players who are committed to Aston Villa and the rest of the players.

"We want players who want to achieve the targets that we set ourselves."

Villa hope to have new signing Mile Jedinak available for tomorrow's game at Derby County. The Australian midfielder had looked set to miss out as he awaited visa paperwork to be completed following a £4million switch from Crystal Palace but Di Matteo remained optimistic everything will be done in time.

"He brings leadership, he brings experience, he has great physicality," he said. "Those are all attributes which in the middle of the team are very important, so we really hope he can have the impact we know he can."