Joe Cole tipped to make England's World Cup squad by Harry Redknapp

22 September 2009 10:51
Cole has not featured in first-team for seven months when he damaged his knee in the 4-1 FA Cup third round replay win at Roots Hall in January.[LNB]Harry Redknapp, now the manager at Tottenham, has known Cole since he was a child and is understood to have been interested in being signing him in January.[LNB] Related ArticlesKenyon proud that Chelsea broke cartelAncelotti big fish in the cityChelsea give six of the bestTerry adds power to gloryEvra: Ferguson was ready to lose itBallack: it's a two-horse raceAnd Redknapp has no doubts that Cole can recover and push himself into contention for a place in Fabio Capello's World Cup squad.[LNB]"Joe will recover because he's fearless," said Redknapp. "He just wants to play football. That's how he was at 10 or 11, you couldn't get him away from a football. [LNB]"I used to say to Joe, how did you learn to control a ball so well? Because when he was 11 he did things with a ball like I have never seen in my life. [LNB]"He used to say that he dribbled a ball to school every day. You can have all the best facilities in the world, but its got to come for the person and Joe only had one thing in mind - to be a footballer.[LNB]"He came to training one day at West Ham when he was 15 on the Friday morning at Chadwell Heath, we were going to Everton the next day, and he joined in a nine-a-side, his team won 3-2 and the players wanted him to play the next day. I remember David Unsworth asking why he couldnt play the enxt day.[LNB]"He's done fantastic, he was always going to be a top, top player. He's the best 11-year-old footballer I've ever seen in my life. And so it hasn't surprised me he's gone onto be a top player, he was just the most amazing kid I've ever seen."[LNB]Redknapp has no doubts that Cole can make a mark and give Capello a problem, adding: I think he can still make the World Cup, and Im sure hell be in the squad.[LNB] 

Source: Telegraph