Villa Linked With Chelsea's Cole

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Joe Cole - Chelsea-Liverpool

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It could well be a case of putting two and two together and making five, but this morning’s Daily Mirror claims that Aston Villa may be planning a £17.5million bid for Chelsea and England midfielder Joe Cole.

The newspaper’s reasoning seems to be that Chelsea are now so well stocked in midfield (and might even add Kaka and Robinho) that Cole will find his first-team opportunities limited this season with the Blues.

So he might, in theory, be receptive to a change of clubs. Certainly a move to Villa would create a real buzz in the west midlands and give Martin O’Neill’s already entertaining side a major creative boost, irrespective of whether Gareth Barry stays or goes.

On the other hand, Luiz Felipe Scolari would probably be reluctant to lose Cole, who has previously expressed solid commitment to Chelsea and who is likely to be up for the competition for places in the Blues’ midfield, though Deco‘s arrival could threaten his first-team berth in particular.

Meanwhile, Kaka’s agent claims Chelsea and Milan are talking about a transfer for the Brazilian superstar. Agent talk always needs to be taken with a pinch of salt, and while it is not hard to see why Chelsea would want Kaka, it is harder to see Milan agreeing to his sale - or Kaka changing his previously stated position and opting to leave San Siro.

Presumably, though, his sale would generate a world record transfer fee which would give Milan the funds to address some urgent squad strengthening needs.

A case of watch this space - but don't hold your breath...

Mark Hinton, Goal.com