Former England defender Ledley King played alongside some all-time prodigies for the Three Lions but one starlet in particular stands out
Ledley King reckons Joe Cole is the best England youngster he’s ever seen. The ex-Tottenham man enjoyed a distinguished career and played alongside the likes of Wayne Rooney, David Beckham and Michael Owen.
Although Spurs legend King saw England caps come few and far between due to persistent injuries, he was still part of some iconic squads. He made 21 appearances for his country before his knee issues forced him to retire at the age of 31.
But despite playing with some unbelievable talents, King is adamant that former Chelsea, West Ham and Liverpool forward Cole is the most talented English wonderkid he has ever seen.
“Joe Cole is the most talented young English player that I have ever seen,” said King, speaking on In The Mixer brought to you by Sky Bet.
“He was so natural. It’s a shame the way formations were with England back then. Because number 10 would be Joe’s best position but we just stuck him on the left.
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“In a 4-4-2 he would be stuck out on the left. That killed him as a player. He’d be so much better if he were able to play in today’s formation.”
Former Premier League defender Joleon Lescott agreed with King, adding: “I think if we played a different formation, we’re talking about Joe Cole differently.
“When I was young you knew of a boy called Joe Cole but you didn’t see him. Then the FA Youth Cup came around and clips of him came out showing him doing all sorts of mad tricks on the pitch.
“He was doing some mad tricks that freestylers are doing now. He was doing them in games. It was like, ‘Wow, someone can do that in a game.'”
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Lescott reckons that the Three Lions’ Golden Generation was also utilised incorrectly and three centre-halves could have provided the key to some silverware. He said: “I don’t think the formation was right.
“So rigid. I think the players we had, if we were to put our players in a 3-5-2… Oh my God. If you put [Steven] Gerrard, [Paul] Scholes and [Frank] Lampard in midfield together. That’s it. It’s done.
“Ashley Cole left wing-back. Right-sided wing back, it could have been [Gary] Neville. Kieron Dyer played there, could have been that. But [David] Beckham has got to play, he’s going to have to play wing-back.
“With the likes to say Ledley on the right-hand side or Sol [Campbell] on the right-hand side of a three with Rio [Ferdinand]… John Terry would have played left, wouldn’t he? An insane level of talent.”
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