Rush: Signing of Cole can light up the Kop
LIVERPOOL legend Ian Rush reckons Joe Cole will be a huge hit at Anfield after the England midfielder agreed terms on a four-year deal yesterday.
The former Chelsea man will undergo a medical in the next 24 hours before he is unveiled by Reds boss Roy Hodgson.
And Rush, the club’s all-time record scorer, believes Cole’s signing is a statement of intent from the new manager.
“Liverpool might not have been successful as we would have liked to have been recently but this shows we can still attract top name players, whether that’s an England international or a foreign international,” Rush said. “We’ve got a great new manager in Roy Hodgson and he knows what he wants and he can talk these players into signing for our club. This is the signing supporters wanted and it’s a big boost for them.
“You look at last season when we went into it not hoping but thinking we were going to win the league. This season people are thinking, ‘are we going to finish in the top four?’
“I think this sends a sign out to Liverpool supporters that the club do mean business.”
Cole’s arrival on Merseyside signals the end of a frustrating last two years for the 28-year-old, who was restricted to just 28 Premier League starts through injury and Chelsea’s rotation policy.
Subsequently, Cole was released after six years at Stamford Bridge, in which time he won three Premier League titles and two FA?Cups. It was reported the club refused to agree to his £90,000-a-week wage demands.
Hodgson beat off competition from Arsenal and Tottenham to land the playmaker, whose arrival is being seen as a key negotiating tool in keeping star players Steven Gerrard and Fernando Torres at the club.
Cole will be seen as a direct replacement for Yossi Benayoun, who moved in the opposite direction to Stamford Bridge in a £5m deal.