Thursday, May 12, 2011

Joe Cole Ready To Take Pay Cut To End Anfield Nightmare

Liverpool midfielder Joe Cole has been made aware he can leave the club in the summer and would consider accepting a pay cut to end his Anfield nightmare.

Cole was acclaimed as a major signing when he joined Liverpool on a free transfer after leaving Chelsea last summer.

But the 29-year-old has found himself out of the side for much of the season and has made just eight Premier League starts, scoring two goals.

Reds manager Kenny Dalglish has publicly backed the former England international but he does not feature in Liverpool's plans to build a younger squad and the club will listen to offers at the end of the season.

Cole, 29, has continued to work professionally in training but he is ready to accept that his move to Merseyside has not worked out as he has struggled with form and fitness due to niggling injury problems. The Reds have not told him to look for a new club but he accepts that he will be allowed to leave if the right deal can be reached.

West Ham, where Cole started his career as a schoolboy, would be interested in bringing him back to Upton Park but appear unlikely to avoid relegation from the Premier League this season.

Tottenham, Blackburn and Queens Park Rangers have all been credited with interest in the attacking midfielder.

Any move would be complicated by the fact that Cole earns £90,000-a-week on a contract that does not expire until 2014, but he would consider accepting a drop in wages if the right move comes along.

“If a move that would be best for Joe's career and his family becomes available, then he will evaluate his options and make a decision,” a source told Goal.com.

The most likely scenario may be a season-long loan to a club that can offer Cole first-team football to kick-start his career and prove that he is still capable of playing at a high level. However, Liverpool would be reluctant to subsidize his wages while he was on loan at another club.

Cole's future is further complicated by the possible return of Alberto Aquilani from Juventus in the summer as Reds chief executive Ian Ayre has been unable to agree a fee with the Italian club to complete a permanent deal.

Liverpool are targeting a number of attacking players in the summer to strengthen their options and support the £57.8 million strikeforce of Andy Carroll and Luis Suarez.

But Dalglish, who took over as manager after Roy Hodgson was sacked in January, has insisted that Cole may yet have a future at the club despite the plans for a summer overhaul.

“It is a great credit to him the way he has been training,” said the Scot after Cole scored in the 5-0 victory over Birmingham last month. “He is fantastic in training. He plays everything right and doesn't have a problem. Everybody has to work hard to get anything and Joe is no different from anybody else.”

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