Joe Cole Signed for Liverpool

Former Chelsea star Joe Cole has finally joined Liverpool on a four-year deal today (19 July 2010). The player would now have to go through medical before joining the pre-season Liverpool camp.

Joe Cole club future became the subject of intense speculation after the England international was released by Chelsea at the end of the last season. The 28-year-old left wing attracted interest from a host of European clubs including Arsenal, Tottenham Hotspur, Manchester United, Manchester City, AC Milan and Valencia.

A final decision from Joe Cole on his future looked just around the corner as Liverpool recently offered a £90,000-a-week salary, even though he was looking for a weekly salary of around £120,000. In fact, Joe Cole failed to extend his Chelsea contract mainly because of financial disagreement.

For Liverpool, the signing of Joe Cole is significant on a number of reasons. First of all, this has been the first major signing since Roy Hodgson took over the managerial role at the Merseyside club few weeks back.

Moreover, signing of Joe Cole could convince Liverpool stars like Steven Gerrard and Fernando Torres to stay at the club as it proves that the club is determined to make a serious bid for the Premier League title next season.

Joe Cole’s recent form at the World Cup 2010 with England was not satisfactory and he missed a lot of action for Chelsea during the last season due to injury. Still, he was one of the most attractive free agents mainly because of his quality as a player. Cole has been perhaps one of the most consistent performers of England national team over the last 4 or 5 years.

Is Joe Cole Still an Arsenal Target Despite Fabregas Staying?

English midfielder Joe Cole is yet to take the final decision on his next destination at club level. The 28-year-old has become a free agent after being released by Chelsea before the World Cup. A number of European clubs including Arsenal, Tottenham Hotspur, Liverpool, Manchester City, Manchester United, AC Milan and Valencia have been linked with Joe Cole.

However, at one point, Arsenal and Tottenham looked to be in pole position in the race of securing his service, but it seems the situation has been changed to some extent.

First of all, Tottenham is far away from meeting his reported £120,000 wage demand, and Liverpool’s recent £90,000-a-week offer has pushed the North London club down in their desire to sign Joe Cole.

Moreover, it seems Joe Cole is not interested to join Tottenham Hotspur who can not ensure Champions League football on a consistent basis, even though Cole’s priority is to stay at London. So from this point of view, Arsenal could be his preferred destination. However, it would be interesting to see if Arsenal is still tracking the midfielder, while Fabregas’ staying of looks imminent.

It is true that Fabregas saga seems to have come to an end at least for this summer, but there is every possibility Barcelona could revive their interest next summer with an improved offer. So, Joe Cole may be still in the thinking of Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger, but there is no doubt, Wenger would not pay him a salary that he is demanding. Wenger is always strict when it comes to salary structure and he would not break it for Cole.

At 28, Joe Cole may think that it is the right time to make some cash in, and in that case Liverpool could be his next destination where he would also be one of the senior players in the squad. However, if he wants to stay at London, he must compromise with his wage demand.

Joe Cole: Liverpool is Next Destination?

England midfielder Joe Cole has been a free agent since Chelsea released him after the end of the last season. Clubs like Manchester United, Manchester City, Arsenal, Tottenham Hotspur and Liverpool have already shown their interest.

Though City and United backed out later on, the left back is still believed to be in the target list of Arsenal, Liverpool and Tottenham.

However, Liverpool now seems to be in pole position to secure his service. The Merseyside club has reportedly offered Cole a yearly salary of £4.7 million which the Anfield officials believe would be enough to make him sign for Liverpool. If the deal is done, it would be manager Roy Hodgson’s first major signing since replacing Rafael Benitez few weeks back.

Recently, Hodgson talked to the 28-year-old and his agent over a possible deal. Liverpool manager is now desperate to convince the star players like Gerrard and Torres to stay at Anfield and signing quality players would help him in this cause.

Joe Cole, on the other hand, is still weighing up all the possibilities. At Tottenham he would be able to reunite wit his former mentor Harry Redknapp, while moving to Arsenal would ensure his participation in the Champions League.

Liverpool may not offer Champions League football for this season, but he would find himself among the senior players of the Merseyside club and it could be enticing too for the former West Ham United player.

It is true that Cole wants a weekly salary of £120,000 that none of the clubs is eager to meet. So, it is pretty much clear that he must lower his wage demand to keep the interest of his suitors intact.

Overall, Joe Cole has a number of options and it is expected that he would take the final decision on his club future very soon.

Joe Cole needs to settle down Soon

Joe Cole is yet to find a club to join despite the mater that at least 3 big clubs of EPL are interested about him. For more than one month, the saga has continued and it may not end soon. Tottenham manager Harry Redknapp has publicly come out and asked Cole to think of his game instead of money.

Arsenal, Liverpool and Tottenham have shown strong interest about getting the midfielder who also plays in England national team. He is available on free transfer now and that makes him one of the most attractive players available in transfer market this summer.

Despite all the interest from these 3 big clubs, the main sticking point is difference between the expected salary from Cole and the willingness of the clubs.

Joe Cole wants something around £120,000 a week while the clubs are not very excited to pay him £80,000 a week or even less. For the last one month, this problem has continued and it has reached to a stalemate position.

The England midfielder needs to decide what he wants. If he really wants money then he should try to contact Manchester City as City has been making all the headlines with their money from Arab owner. However, it is understood that even City is not prepared to pay him £120,000 a week salary.

It is important to settle down soon or else clubs like Arsenal and Liverpool might go for other players and it really may become too late for Joe Cole to find a decent club with decent offer.