Football Transfer Update: Cole Signs for Liverpool
While the England team is still l*****g its wounds after their dismal World Cup campaign, which saw them crash out against three time champions Germany, in an embarrassing second round exit, some of the leading clubs in English football have started sharpening their weapons before the start of the next domestic season.
The transfer market is set to hot up in the upcoming days, and the first major shake up of the season is midfielder Joe Cole’s signing for Liverpool, after he was released by his club Chelsea in May this year.
The signing gives another opportunity to some one touted as one of the brightest talents in English football a few years ago to rekindle his career, which has not been as smooth as many predicted.
Cole now a 28-year-old veteran dazzled the followers of the game in the country in his teenage years with an impressive stint with West Ham United.
The member of the English team that went to South Africa for the World cup becomes the first major signing by new Liverpool manager Roy Hodgson, since he took over from one of the club stalwarts Rafael Benitez at the start of this month.
Liverpool, who endured a difficult season last year in which they failed to win any major silverware, announced that Cole had agreed with the terms and conditions offered to him by the club.
He has been signed a four year contract and would become a part of the club officially after he undergoes a medical test with in the next two days.
Cole, who was a free agent, was also a potential target for some other leading clubs in the English domestic circuit, including big names like London based Arsenal and Tottenham Hotspur.
The breakthrough achieved by Hodgson to bring Cole to Liverpool’s ranks is being considered a major decision, as the new coach starts a new campaign with the enormous task of bringing the Anfield club back into the top four of the Premier League.
The move to sign Cole by Liverpool is their reaction to a similar move made by Chelsea to sign Israel midfielder Yossi Benayoun, who was the part of the Liverpool team that generally had a forgetful season last year.
Benayoun made the move to Chelsea after three fruitless seasons with his former club, who ended up at a woeful seventh spot in the Premier League last season.
Most of the critics of the game believed that the reason behind the dismal season for Liverpool was the lack of midfield creativity.
The then coach Benitez was focusing mainly on the talents of England’s world cup captain Steven Gerrard and Fernando Torres, who was a part of the Spanish team that won the World cup, despite having a forgetful tournament himself.
Cole is being considered the answer to the troubles Liverpool had in the midfield last year. as he predominantly plays on the left.
He had a memorable time with his former club spending seven seasons there and winning as many as three Premier League titles.
His fortunes suffered a dip in the last two seasons, as he suffered a serious knee injury that threatened his career for a considerable time.
He eventually had to be operated upon and subsequently spent nine months in the wilderness starting from January 2009.
Upon his return he was quickly back to his best playing a major role in his team’s push for the title last season.
He scored a crucial goal in the victory at Old Trafford against the favourites Manchester United in April, yet was released once his contract expired.
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