Championship promotion hopefuls Derby County are set to seal the shock signing of former Chelsea and Arsenal full-back Ashley Cole on a free transfer, according to The Sun.
The Sun’s Alan Nixon has reported that Derby County have made an offer for England legend Ashley Cole, with Frank Lampard set to reunite with his former teammate.
Cole is set for a surprise return to English football with Derby County, opting to join The Rams instead of continuing his career abroad. Frank Lampard has been determined to bring in another left-back with Craig Forsyth out for the foreseeable future.
Academy graduate Max Lowe is set to return to Scottish side Aberdeen on loan for the rest of the season after Lampard decided that he is not ready for Championship football. Cole will come in to provide some competition for former Huddersfield left-back Scott Malone.
It is stated in the report that Cole “won’t break the bank either”, which will come as a pleasant surprise given his experience and career.
The 38-year-old comes with bags of experience at the top level. Cole has played a massive 384 games in the Premier League, also making 109 appearances in the Champions League for Premier League duo Arsenal and Chelsea and Italian giants Roma.
However, it has been some time since he was tested in English football. Cole left Chelsea for Roma back in 2014, where he played just 16 times in all competitions over the course of one season. Since leaving Italy, Cole has been playing in America with LA Galaxy, playing there for two years before his release at the end of the 2018 season.
