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Former England international playmaker now admits he rejected Tottenham move, he just ‘couldn’t’ play for them
In Tottenham Hotspurs’ new era under Ange Postecoglou, it would be a surprise to hear that almost any player would reject a move to the club.
Spurs are flying under Postecoglou, playing exciting and attractive football whilst improving their playing staff game by game.
However, that’s not always been the case.
Towards the end of Antonio Conte’s time with the club, a move to North London wasn’t particularly appealing at all.
That being said, some players simply wouldn’t join the club owing to their loyalties elsewhere, and that was the case for Joe Cole.
The former West Ham United and Chelsea midfielder has now revealed that he previously decided to reject a move to Tottenham before he joined Liverpool in 2010.
Incidentally, Cole suggested that he may have been hoping for a move to Arsenal, but that never materialised.
Cole was speaking on ‘’ podcast with John Obi Mikel and also explained his decision-making.
Joe Cole decided to reject a move to Tottenham in 2010
Speaking to Mikel, Cole said: “I had a choice between Liverpool or Spurs because Arsenal pulled out and I just couldn’t go to Spurs. I just couldn’t.
“It would have made sense, Harry Redknapp was the manager, I lived in London, they had a good team, half my pals are Spurs fans. I just couldn’t do it.
“My daughter was just born and Liverpool is a great club. It didn’t work for me there but it is a great club, an institution globally and if I could have my time again, I would go, no wait.
“And I’d have gone abroad, somewhere hot, because playing in the heat actually helped my knee.
“Because after that I went to Liverpool, Aston Villa, West Ham and had a good season in France, but I was just managing my injuries. Playing well sometimes but I wasn’t the same.
“Then when I went to America, it was like a miracle, living in the sun. If I could have hindsight I would have gone abroad somewhere hot, maybe Spain or Italy, and I could have played at the top level for a little bit longer.”
Maybe for the best
Incidentally, that was the summer in which Spurs did sign cult hero Rafael van der Vaart.
And as a result, Tottenham fans may not be too displeased that Cole decided to reject a move to the club after all.
There’s no doubt that Cole had a ton of talent, but his career was unfortunately blighted by injuries as he mentioned.
Although they’re different stylistically, Tottenham did manage to secure their number one target this summer, a current England international playmaker.
James Maddison has been sorely missed whilst injured and his imminent return will be very welcome, even if one midfielder has now become crucial in his absence.