HE may have cost nothing in terms of transfer fee, but Joe Cole’s signing could yet prove the most valuable Liverpool make this summer.
After weeks of nervously picking up a newspaper or turning on the news for fear of discovering another player being linked with a move away from Anfield, supporters can, for today at least, forget such trepidation.
Given the club’s parlous financial position, it was a no-brainer for Liverpool to register their interest once it became apparent Cole was unable to reach agreement with Chelsea over a new contract.
But the sea of negativity that has engulfed Anfield in recent times meant it was more in hope than expectation that supporters reckoned on the England international heading to Merseyside ahead of staying in London with either Tottenham Hotspur and Arsenal.
Hence the pleasant surprise when it emerged yesterday Cole had agreed to become Roy Hodgson’s first signing since taking over from Rafael Benitez earlier this month.
Was it the handsome salary on offer that made the difference? Perhaps. More likely, the security of a four-year deal proved the unique selling point for a player who, at 28, is approaching the latter stages of his career.
But by turning down the chance to play in the Champions League, it proved that, for all their undoubted problems, Liverpool remain a major lure to leading players.
Of course, everything is not going to suddenly become all rosy on the back of one transfer.
But it is impossible to dismiss the message Cole’s arrival will send to the fans and, more pertinently, to the players still mulling over their Anfield futures.
It’s almost certainly too late to dissuade Javier Mascherano from navigating a reunion with Benitez at Inter, the Argentine barely bothering to disguise his attempts to manufacture a move to the San Siro.
However, both Steven Gerrard and Fernando Torres will surely have been encouraged by Cole’s arrival, an indication Hodgson is determined to make Liverpool a more competitive force following the mammoth underachievement of last season.
Cole’s capture is without doubt a feather in the bow for the manager and will help convince the doubters.
