SOCCER NEWS:LIVERPOOL HOPE Joe Cole's arrival at Anfield on a four-year deal worth €22 million can convince Steven Gerrard and Fernando Torres to commit their futures to the club.
Cole agreed to become Liverpool’s second summer signing yesterday when he rejected the chance of Champions League football with Tottenham Hotspur and Arsenal in favour of a €107,000-a-week contract on Merseyside. The transfer will be finalised providing the England midfielder passes a medical in the next 48 hours in Switzerland, where he has arrived at Liverpool’s pre-season training camp.
Liverpool’s offer to Cole, who was available on a free following Chelsea’s refusal to extend his contract at Stamford Bridge, is understood to have bettered the terms available in north London but was not the most lucrative deal on the table. West Ham United, one of Cole’s former clubs, made the highest offer to the 28-year-old but the prospect of joining Liverpool, and regular first-team football under the new manager, Roy Hodgson, swayed him.
Cole’s decision gives the lie to the notion that remaining in the capital on the most lucrative contract available was his over-riding ambition. The Chelsea manager, Carlo Ancelotti, claimed Cole’s problem at Stamford Bridge was not personal but economic.
His move to Anfield has wider implications for Liverpool, who have endured a turbulent period on and off the field recently, with the departure of Rafael Benitez as manager accompanied by doubts over the futures of Gerrard, Torres and Javier Mascherano.
Liverpool are reluctant to say anything publicly about Cole’s signing, beyond confirmation of the agreement, until a player who suffered a serious cruciate ligament injury in January 2009 has passed a stringent medical. Club officials are increasingly hopeful, however, that a transfer that has been well-received by senior players will serve as a statement of intent to Gerrard and Torres should they become the subject of bids from Real Madrid and Chelsea respectively.
No offers have been received for Gerrard or Torres, despite interest in the pair. Mascherano is a target for Internazionale and Liverpool may show less resistance to selling a player who has agitated for a move for two summers.
Cole’s arrival will provide a significant fillip to Liverpool who, despite the €415 million debt placed on the club by the co-owners, Tom Hicks and George Gillett, have signed an England international and the Serbia striker Milan Jovanovic on free transfers, but substantial personal terms, this summer.
Selling Yossi Benayoun to Chelsea raised €6 million and Liverpool intend to increase that figure significantly by reducing the size of the first-team squad. Emiliano Insua is considering a €6 million move to Fiorentina and Albert Riera is close to joining Olympiakos for a similar fee. All the deals were put in place before Hodgson joined on July 1st. The manager has confirmed a new left-back is a priority, given that three will have left since January should Insua follow Andrea Dossena and Fabio Aurelio out the club.
Hodgson has said Liverpool’s World Cup contingent will not be considered for Europa League qualifying duty next week, but that policy may not apply to Cole, who was restricted to two substitute appearances in England’s campaign. Ian Rush, who retains close links with his former club, said: “I’m sure Roy Hodgson will play him in every game, especially if he is playing well, and maybe getting regular football is a reason why he has come to Liverpool. To get Joe to come out of London and come to Liverpool is a coup for Hodgson itself . . . this shows we can still attract top-name players.”
Guardian Service
