Former Chelsea striker tells Sky Sports News Alvaro Morata 'should embrace what he has got'
Tuesday 13 November 2018 14:23, UK
England did not appreciate Joe Cole enough and are now "gagging" for a player with his ability, according to his former Chelsea team-mate Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink.
Cole announced his retirement on Tuesday after 20 years in the game, ending his career with an impressive trophy haul that includes three Premier League titles and two FA Cups.
The 37-year-old also racked up 56 caps for England, but Hasselbaink says English football failed to recognise what a talent it had on its hands.
He told Sky Sports News: "I would have liked to have seen him playing more in England. I don't think we appreciated him enough and now you are gagging for a player like him, to have that kind of creativity. You are missing somebody like him.
"What a player he was when he came to Chelsea. Juan Sebastian Veron said 'no, you need to have the number 10' because of how he was as a player.
"Technically so good, such a good guy. So much ability. If you look back at what he has achieved as a player, absolutely magnificent.
"He used to do things with the ball nobody else could do. It was a pleasure and I wish him all the best in the next chapter."
Hasselbaink spent four years at Chelsea, scoring 81 goals in 169 games at Stamford Bridge, meaning he is well placed to assess Chelsea's current striking options.
The Dutchman feels the Blues need another striker to boost their title challenge, but he is positive that Alvaro Morata can still establish himself as their go-to goalscorer.
"Well do they need another striker? I think every club that is going for the Premier League needs three strikers," he said.
"But for me, Morata will score goals. He is somebody that is a confidence person. He is so good at getting behind a defence - he needs to keep on doing that.
"He shouldn't concentrate on becoming something he is not. He should embrace what he has got.
"He is not somebody like Giroud, who likes the contact of the centre-halves. He shouldn't have to play like that."
