Derby expected to sign former Chelsea and England left-back this week
Friday 18 December 2020 08:55, UK
With Derby expected to sign Ashley Cole on a six-month deal this week, we look at the 38-year-old's connection with manager Frank Lampard, his time after Chelsea, and what he could bring to the Sky Bet Championship club.
Cole is looking for a new challenge after his three-year MLS spell with LA Galaxy concluded when the club opted against extending his contract.
A move to Derby would see Cole reunite with former Chelsea and England team-mate Lampard, who said in his press conference Friday the defender was looking "fit, fresh and wanting to continue to play".
Here, we look at the pair's glittering spell at Chelsea, Cole's movements since leaving Stamford Bridge, and consider whether he can solve Lampard's left-back conundrum.
Lampard and Cole spent eight years together at Chelsea following the latter's move from Arsenal in 2006.
The pair won the Premier League in 2009-10, four FA Cups, one League Cup, the Europa League in 2013, and most notably the Champions League a year earlier in 2012.
Both Lampard and Cole converted their penalties in the final shootout against Bayern Munich on their opponents' home turf, allowing Didier Drogba to roll in the winning spot-kick at the Allianz Arena.
The duo were also part of England's fabled 'golden generation' which struggled to deliver on the international stage. Cole, with 107 caps, was the nation's first-choice left-back at every major tournament from the 2002 World Cup up until Euro 2012.
Lampard, a fellow centurion with 106 caps, first featured at Euro 2004 and along with Cole played every minute of the 2006 and 2010 World Cups before retiring from international duty after one final appearance at the 2014 edition in Brazil.
Both left Chelsea in the summer of 2014. Lampard joined Manchester City on loan - via New York City FC - while Cole joined Roma on a two-year deal after becoming a free agent.
A Roma squad photo - in which Cole stood a yard part from his team-mates - is unfortunately what people will remember most from the defender's time in Italy.
"Everyone was like, 'He's got no friends there, he's not speaking the language.' I had great friends there," Cole later told Soccer AM's Tubes.
Cole later said in an interview on MLS's website that the move to Galaxy allowed him to escape the limelight.
"If you've got someone like Brad Pitt next to you, then no one's going to care about the little soccer player," he said.
"It's a different lifestyle here. Of course, you can walk around, you can go to restaurants, and, kind of, no one bothers you."
But on the pitch Cole struggled to hold down a first-team spot. After starting Roma's first three Serie A games in 2014-15, he was ousted by Jose Holebas and ultimately spent 27 league games starting and remaining on the bench.
After 10 months without a game Cole terminated his contract in January 2016 and joined Steven Gerrard at LA Galaxy.
Cole quickly became a regular at Galaxy, while he thanked the club on Twitter for "bringing the smile back" as he began to settle down stateside.
Galaxy's season ended at the quarter-final stage of the MLS play-offs, with Cole one of three players to miss his penalty as the club crashed out to Colorado Rapids.
The following season, Cole started 29 MLS games, but it was further disappointment for Galaxy as they finished bottom of the Western Conference.
Cole then assumed the captain's armband for the 2018 campaign, and witnessed the arrival of Zlatan Ibrahimovic that year, and even assisting the Swede for his winning debut goal in a remarkable 4-3 win over LAFC - having trailed 3-0.
Ibrahimovic's move and debut to remember failed to reinvigorate Galaxy, however, as they lost six of their next seven games.
An upturn in form saw Galaxy pushing for a play-off spot, but they missed out after blowing a 2-0 lead to lose 3-2 to Houston Dynamo on the final day of the regular season.
Cole ended the season with one goal and nine assists, but was released in November with Galaxy declining to exercise an option to re-sign Cole for the 2019 season.
But there has been no talk of retirement for Cole, who told FourFourTwo in 2017 he wants to play for as long as possible, but was also keen on a coaching role at Chelsea when he calls it a day.
Cole said: "Coaching or being a scout is something I've always considered and enjoyed while watching games. I try to nurture young players coming through, so it's something I have in the back of my mind for after I finish playing. But I want to play for as long as I possibly can, because once you finish playing, you are done for life."
Experience would be the obvious answer, but also some healthy competition at left-back - a position no player has held down at Derby this season.
Max Lowe started the season there, but eventually joined Aberdeen on loan. The 21-year-old returned to Pride Park and started their FA Cup draw with Southampton and 2-0 league loss to Leeds United, but has since returned to the Dons once more for the remainder of the campaign.
All the while, Scott Malone and Craig Forsyth have been left to battle it out for the left-back role at Derby, but after injury struck the former Lampard turned to Andre Wisdom to fill in.
Signing Cole until the end of the season appears to be the short-term fix Lampard is seeking, particularly as the Derby boss stressed Lowe is in his plans beyond the summer.
Lampard said: "Max is very much our player and remains in our long-term plans, but we felt for his long-term development it was important for him to continue to get regular first-team matches.
"Aberdeen is a fantastic place for him to do that. He has really progressed under Derek McInnes and we have a great relationship with him.
"It'll be good for Max to get more games under his belt and return to us in the summer ready for next season."
For the time being, it appears Malone is Lampard's first-choice left-back, despite the recent injury, but Cole can still push the 27-year-old and provide his wisdom on a role he mastered.
"I know the influence he would have but it has to be right for all parties," Lampard said on Friday. "In my opinion, he's the greatest left-back of a generation. Of course, his age is an obvious thing (to talk about) but it's not a problem for me."
As Derby push for promotion to the Premier League, having one of England's best-ever left-backs in your ranks should hopefully serve the club well - whether he is in or out of the side.
