JOE COLE will become Chelsea’s latest recruit of an extraordinary summer when he completes a £6.6 million transfer from West Ham United today. The East London club, relegated from the Barclaycard Premiership last season, decided to cash in on one of their most valuable assets now rather than lose him for next to nothing when his contract expires at the end of the coming season.
A West Ham statement said: “Everyone at the club is extremely sorry to see Joe leave Upton Park. Following 18 months of very amicable discussions between Joe, the club, his father and his agents, it was made clear that Joe would not consider extending his contract past its expiry, believing that his international career would be enhanced by regular European club competition experience.”
The arrival at Stamford Bridge of the England midfield player, subject to agreeing personal terms and passing a medical, does not preclude the purchase of Juan Sebastián Verón, who should follow in the next 48 hours.
Roman Abramovich will not stop there. Chelsea plan two more big signings by the end of the month, which will take the Russian billionaire’s spending spree to £70 million on top of his initial £150 million outlay. Claude Makelele is a target but Real Madrid are waiting to see if they can find a replacement. A striker is also wanted by Chelsea, with Adrian Mutu, of Parma, still under consideration.
Quite how Claudio Ranieri, the head coach, is going to fit all these new arrivals together is not clear. Cole will have to fight for his place in a midfield that has already been augmented by the purchase of Damien Duff for £17 million and Geremi for £7 million.
Advertisement
Verón, whose protracted £14 million transfer from Manchester United should shortly go through, will take up one of the central roles, which leaves Cole with no obvious berth. Ranieri will be happy to have Cole and Verón at his disposal but he will be far more content when the club signs a midfield player who is robust in the tackle. Frank Lampard and Emmanuel Petit will have to share the donkey work for now.
Assuming Chelsea qualify over two legs later this month, the demands of the Champions League will require Ranieri to rotate his squad, and Cole will have needed little persuasion that he was better off in the Premiership at Stamford Bridge than in the Nationwide League at Upton Park. West Ham are fast becoming a club in deep trouble after the sales of Trevor Sinclair, Glen Johnson (also to Chelsea), Frédéric Kanouté and now Cole, who should complete the formalities of his move today. If Manchester United can tempt the West Ham board to sell Jermain Defoe, Glenn Roeder will be going into Saturday’s opening league game at Preston North End with David Connolly, signed from Wimbledon, and Richard Garcia, 21, as his only recognised strikers. Morale is rock bottom at Upton Park.
Cole, 21, turned up for work at the Chadwell Heath training ground yesterday morning but quickly disappeared when he was informed that the two clubs were in talks.
Since giving Cole his international debut two years ago, Sven-Göran Eriksson, the England head coach, has been faint in his praise, even though he did take him to the World Cup finals. Cole will have the chance now to prove that he is more than just a bag of tricks and that he can transform matches on the big stage.
Cole’s versatility — he played on both flanks and through the middle for West Ham — will be needed as he tries to find a regular place in the Chelsea XI, which grows harder to guess with each signing. Jesper Gronkjaer and Boudewijn Zenden must be wondering if they will even make it to the substitutes’ bench, while Mario Stanic will be checking the dates for the Carling Cup.