According to reports from The Daily Mail, Aston Villa manager Remy Garde has confirmed his interest in signing former Arsenal and Chelsea left-back Ashley Cole during the January transfer window.
The ex-England international made 228 appearances for Arsenal and 338 appearances for Chelsea – winning three Premier League titles, seven FA Cups, the 2012 Champions League title and 107 ThreeLions caps in the process – before leaving the English top flight for Roma in summer 2014.
But the 34-year-old has gone on to make just eleven appearances across all competitions for Giallorossi and is yet to register a single outing this season.Although his contract expires in the summer, manager Rudi Garcia is reportedly keen to find Cole a new club when the transfer window reopens next month.
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And Aston Villa boss Remi Garde – who worked the left-back during the 1998-99 season at Arsenal – has confirmed his interest in bringing Cole back to the Premier League. As quoted by The Daily Mail, he said; “Ashley is someone who has experience, but he didn’t play for a while now. Every good player is interesting for me and he is a good player.”
The Villians desperately require extra cover at No.3 with summer signing Jordan Amavi ruled out for the rest of the season through injury. Kieran Richardson has struggled to fill the void, whilst midfielder Leandro Bacuna was utilised as an emergency left-back during a draw with Southampton last weekend.
However, another former team-mate of Cole’s – Patrick Vieira – could offer the veteran defender the chance to move to the MLS with New York City FC instead.