OPTA JURY: JOE COLE

Joe Cole was part of the Russian revolution at Chelsea last summer, with his £6.6million move across London from West Ham just one of a host of moves to the club in the close season. While Chelsea look to continue their spending spree during the current transfer window though, Cole's future at Stamford Bridge appears to be in doubt.

With Chelsea being linked with Charlton's Scott Parker, Cole's name has been mentioned with a possible move in the opposite direction and just last week, Cole spoke out about his unease at being a fringe player at Chelsea.

The England midfielder has featured in all but one of the Blues Premiership games this season but has yet to play the for the full 90 minutes. Cole said: "It's tough. Some players can turn it on and off, but I need to have some sort of continuity."

But with another former Hammer, Frank Lampard, currently enjoying the form of his life at Stamford Bridge, has the move across London also improved Cole's game.

The £6.6million man has yet to open his Premiership account for the Blues, striking the woodwork against Birmingham last week being the closest he has come. However, he was not a prolific goalscorer at West Ham either, with just ten Premiership goals from his five seasons there, although his shooting has been more wayward at Chelsea.

The quality of Cole's passing has improved considerably since his West Ham days however. 82% of his passes now find a team mate compared to just 75% when he was wearing claret and blue. He also has two assists already, which is slightly better than his average for a season at West Ham.

If Cole believes being part of Chelsea's rotation policy is affecting his England chances, then he may have to think again. He has featured in six of the nine international games which have taken place since the end of last season, grabbing two goals in the process and he made only his second start for his country in the last international against Denmark.

But will his summer move from the E13 to SW6 be judged a success or a failure?

Joe Cole	Chelsea	West Ham
Goal Attempts	 	 
Goals	0	10
Shots Attempted	20	187
Accuracy %	30%	43%
Strike Rate %	0%	5%
Passing	 	 
Goal Assists	2	9
Total Passes	516	4530
Pass Completion %	82%	75%
Crossing	 	 
Total Crosses	35	233
Cross Completion %	26%	28%
Dribbling	 	 
Dribbles & Runs	80	755
Dribble Completion %	74%	67%

 

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