Joe Cole signs for Aston Villa on two-year deal
Joe Cole has penned a two-year contract with Aston Villa after passing a medical.
The 32-year-old, released by West Ham, is Paul Lambert's second signing of the summer following the arrival of Philippe Senderos.
“I’m really excited,” said Cole, capped 56 times for England.
“It all happened really quickly, I got a call maybe a week or 10 days ago and it just felt like it was a really exciting place to come at this moment.
“This is a massive club and there’s a massive opportunity for the club to push on. That was the main factor. I spoke to the gaffer and we have similar views on football. He didn’t need to sell the club but he explained what the view is for the future and, like I said, that was the main thing. When I spoke to the manager I knew I’d be signing.
“I’ll be coming here and I’ll be learning too. Obviously I’ll bring my experience to the squad but you still learn every day and I want to learn. I know I’ll learn from the manager, I’ll learn from other players here and going forward together we want to get the best results for Aston Villa."
Cole came through the youth system at West Ham, making his debut aged 17.
He went on to join Chelsea in 2003 in a £6million deal, winning three Premier League titles, three FA Cups and two League Cups.
A disappointing spell at Liverpool followed and, after a loan switch at Lille, he returned to West Ham in 2013.
“So far I’ve been lucky enough to have a really good career but there’s still a lot more I want to achieve," said Cole.
"The fire is still burning in me. I want to do well. I want to play at the highest level and win things still and this club fits. With the young squad we’ve got here, we’ve had two seasons consolidating and now we’re going to want to push on, which I’m very excited about.
"When I signed for Chelsea, that felt right, when I went to Lille, that felt 100% right and now this feeling is on a par to when I went to those clubs.
“Playing against Villa over the last two seasons and watching them, when you’ve got young players at that age, first of all to get them all playing at their best at the same time is very tricky. They’re going to be inconsistent and the manager has got to take credit for what he’s done there.
“I think quality players like Andi Weimann, Christian Benteke and Fabian Delph, amongst all of the others I could name, have come in and what will happen is when they’ve played 50 games they’ll get better. Then when they’ve played 100 games they’ll get better again. Then when they’ve played 150, and so on. That’s just normal, every player in the world is like that because you improve as you play.
“There is just so much potential at the club to kick on and I think we’re only going to get better. That’s another thing, when I talked to the manager he said I would be playing in a more central position and, having those fast players in attack and around me, I feel like I can supply them with the bullets and get them the ball in the final third.
"They’re good players to play with because speed is a must now in the game, particularly in the Premier League. I’ve watched the development of Fabian over the past two years and he’s a terrific player. He finished the season just gone so strongly. There’s pace and power all over the team and I really think we can kick on.
“Villa Park has actually been a very difficult place for me to come and play as an away player. I remember at Chelsea we had a particularly bad record there and I don’t think West Ham’s was much better either.
"I know how difficult it can be for opposition players and we need to get back to making it that fortress. If we get a good start we know the fans will get right behind us and it’s a good place to play. I think I’ve only scored one goal at Villa Park, in the quarter final of the cup, so it’s a tough place to play. I’m glad I’m on the home side now.
“The best bit of advice you get is that if you’re a young man in any walk of life you try and look at the people who’ve done it before. All of the ex-players, all of the professionals that I’ve ever spoken to in my career say, ‘Enjoy it while it lasts because it goes quick, take everything you can out of it.’ That’s one thing I have done and one thing I’m proud to say is that I’ve enjoyed every day of my career, every moment of it and I want to squeeze as much out of it as I can. I’m as excited now as I was as a 16-year-old lad going into my first season with West Ham.”