Joe Cole heads for Liverpool and the legendary shirt of...
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Liverpool swoop for Chelsea’s Cole
Liverpool have signed Joe Cole on a four-year deal following his release by Chelsea.
The 28-year-old England midfielder left Stamford Bridge in June after failing to agree a new contract with the Premier League champions.
Cole's arrival follows winger Yossi Benayoun's move from Anfield to Chelsea for an undisclosed fee in July.
A statement on the club's official website read: "Liverpool FC are delighted to confirm the signing of Joe Cole on a four-year deal.
"The England midfielder has agreed personal terms with the Reds and will undergo a medical in the next 48 hours."
The West Ham academy graduate becomes Liverpool 's second summer signing after Serbia forward Milan Jovanovic arrived on a three-year contract from Standard Liege.
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honestly this come as a surprise for most of us .
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Arsenal did not show much interest in him
no i felt he would definitely join e Kops.
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Come in No. 7! Joe Cole heads for Liverpool and the legendary shirt of Keegan and Dalglish
Joe Cole flew out to join his new Liverpool team-mates at their training base in Switzerland on Monday after agreeing an £80,000-a-week deal and being handed the club's coveted No 7 shirt by boss Roy Hodgson.
The 28-year-old England player, who was released by Chelsea last month, snubbed moves to Arsenal and Tottenham to sign a four-year deal with the Merseyside club and become Liverpool's second major acquisition since Rafael Benitez departed, following the arrival of Milan Jovanovic earlier this summer.
Roy's new boy: Hodgson greets England star and latest signing Joe Cole at Liverpool's Swiss training camp
Cole joined Hodgson's skeleton squad at their pre-season camp in Zug near Zurich and will have a medical today.
Meanwhile, his England team-mates Steven Gerrard and Jamie Carragher are expected back at the club's Melwood ground today for their first day of pre-season training.
The pair will miss two friendlies against FC Grasshopper and Kaiserslautern this week and Gerrard is expected to meet Hodgson face-to-face after the weekend.
Friendly fire: Gerrard will link up with new-boy Cole
The former Fulham boss will then begin his task of convincing his captain, as well as Argentina midfielder Javier Mascherano and Spain's World Cup-winning striker Fernando Torres, to stay at Anfield.
Central to those talks will be the addition of former West Ham junior Cole, who turned down similar wage offers from Arsenal and Tottenham to join Liverpool, and who was linked with a move to Manchester United earlier in the close season.
Hodgson, who is preparing younger members of his squad for next week's Europa League kick-off, has admitted signing a left back is his priority as Emiliano Insua inched closer to a £5million switch to Fiorentina and Fabio Aurelio is being released on a free transfer.
The Liverpool boss said: 'We need to find a replacement for Emiliano and Fabio. That is one job we will have to do.'
Meanwhile, Liverpool have hired former Simply Red guitarist Sylvan Richardson as a masseur on their medical staff.