PLAYER PROFILE

Joe Cole, J

Position: Midfield

Height: 5'9

Weight: 10st 12lbs

Date of Birth: 1981-11-08 Camden, England

Joe Cole, J

Joe Cole left relegated West Ham in the summer of 2003, as most expected he would do, and it was Chelsea who swooped for him, aided by the money Roman Abramovich made available for transfers. Now Cole faces the challenge of trying to fight for a place in Chelsea's star-studded midfield.

Since breaking into the Hammers first team in 1999, Cole not only became a key part of the Hammers' squad but made himself an irreplaceable fixture in the starting line-up. International recognition is also calling for the young midfielder from North London, having travelled to the Far East as part of Sven Goran Eriksson's World Cup squad - it is only a matter of time before he stakes a regular claim for a place at the highest level.

Cole, who came through West Ham's hugely successful youth scheme, is an attacking midfielder of sensational class. Able to change the course of games with his amazing vision and excellent technique, Cole was greatly protected by Harry Redknapp, keeping him out of the limelight, but he blossomed under Glenn Roeder into a key part of the first team.

When the youngster broke his leg towards the end of the 1999-2000 season, fears mounted that his potentially explosive career could perhaps have been prematurely curtailed. Thankfully though, a sustained period of rest and recuperation followed by a highly effective rehabilitation programme meant that Cole made a full recovery and approached the 2000-2001 season in high spirits and hasn't looked back since.

Maintaining a place in the Chelsea first team during his first season at Stamford Bridge was always going to be tough with Claudio 'Tinkerman' Ranieri at the helm. Cole tended to start the less important games and come on as a substitute in the Champions League and Premiership clashes with the likes of Arsenal. He has been linked with a move away from the Bridge, with reports speculating that the midfielder is unhappy with the amount of first team action he is seeing, howeber he is still there.

On the England front, Cole continued to make progress and travelled to Portugal for Euro 2004. Although he failed to make an appearance during the tournament, he did play some part in all the friendlies during the 2003/04 season, scoring in the 3-2 defeat to Denmark in November.

The 2004/05 season saw Cole's fine form continue. Playing 46 games, he scored 9 goals, proving a useful playmaker in the centre of the Chelsea team as they secured the Barcalys Premiership trophy and Carling Cup in Jose Mourinho's first season in charge of the Blues.

On the international front, he proved himself an indespensible asset for Sven-Goran Erikssen as the England squad strived to qualify for the World Cup in Germany in 2006, scoring his third international goal in the 4-0 thrashing of Northern Ireland.

In 2005/06, he continued to be a crucial part of Mourinho's side, improving throughout the season, despite the arrival of Shaun Wright-Phillips as competition for his place. He scored eleven goals including a classic against Man United on the day Chelsea were crowned champions again, and took that form into the World Cup with England.

He scored a stunning goal against Sweden in the 2-2 draw in the group stages, and was one of Sven Goran Eriksson's best players at that point, though he faded as the tournament went on.

An injury suffered during a pre-season tour of America kept Cole out for much of the 06/07 season. He returned towards the end of the campaign but there was little time to make much of an impact.

However, he regained full form in 2007/08, and played arguably his finest season for the Blues.