Liverpool lure Joe Cole with £20m contract

11 April 2012

Liverpool have beaten off interest from Arsenal and Tottenham to capture former Chelsea midfielder Joe Cole on a free transfer.

The 28-year-old England international left Stamford Bridge at the end of last season after failing to settle on a new contract with the club and has agreed personal terms on a bumper four-year deal at Anfield worth around £100,000 per week.

Cole, who will undergo a medical in the next 48 hours, could have gone to a team offering Champions League football but has chosen to join new Reds boss Roy Hodgson at Anfield even though they can only offer the Europa League this season.

Chelsea boss Carlo Ancelotti claimed at the weekend the only reason Cole had left Chelsea was down to money. Both Arsenal and Spurs refused to break their strict wage structures to keep the Londoner in the capital so he is moving north.

The capture of Cole was seen as being a key factor in proving to the likes of Steven Gerrard and Fernando Torres, who have both been linked with departures after a disappointing seventh-placed finish in Rafael Benitez's final season in charge, that Liverpool can still compete for quality signings.

Cole is the second summer arrival at Liverpool after Serbia forward Milan Jovanovic joined following the end of his contract with Standard Liege.

Cole will be seen as a direct replacement for Yossi Benayoun, who moved to Chelsea for £5.5m earlier this month, and only time will tell who got the better of that exchange.

Hodgson is still on the look-out for a new left-back with Fabio Aurelio having gone and Emiliano Insua on the verge of completing his move to Fiorentina.

After that the Liverpool boss will hope to secure commitments from Gerrard and Torres about their futures.

Hodgson insisted today he was not concerned by Javier Mascherano's failure to get back to him after he tried to contact the midfielder last week.

The Argentina captain is still on holiday after his World Cup exploits and is not due to return for pre-season training for another week.

The 26-year-old has been linked with a reunion with former Reds boss Benitez at Inter Milan but Hodgson said: "He doesn't need to make contact with me.

"I've made contact with him, telling him I'm looking forward to seeing him in training when he returns from his holiday but I did make the point in the voicemail that I didn't expect him to contact me."

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Liverpool lure Joe Cole with £20m contract

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