Joe Cole believes his best days are ahead of him as he starts to consider his club future, and admits finding a manager who "loves" him will be key to his decision. The attacking midfielder became a free agent on 1 July, when his Chelsea contract expired, with a host of clubs now seemingly vying for his signature.

Tottenham Hotspur manager Harry Redknapp, Cole's former boss at West Ham United, revealed earlier this week that he had spoken to the player, with Arsenal among those also reportedly interested. "I'm thinking about my own future now," said the 28-year-old England international.

I want to play in a more central position, like I did at West Ham. I feel my best days are ahead of me.
Free agent Joe Cole on his future

"I want to play in a more central position, like I did at West Ham. I feel I've got a lot more still to offer and my best days are ahead of me. I want the right kind of manager - a manager who loves me, who will put me in the team.

"At Chelsea there were players who could have two or three dreadful games before they were left out. I only had to have a dreadful 20 minutes and I was out."

International issues
Turning to England's miserable 2010 FIFA World Cup South Africa™ campaign, Cole backed up Franz Beckenbauer's assessment that there is too much "kick and rush" in English football. "Every team I have played for - from West Ham to Chelsea to England - want to hit the front players as early as possible," he said.

"You won't get away with that at international level. It's about technique, keeping control of the ball, passing and moving. Chelsea do that more than other teams in the Premier League, and that's why we've been successful, and it's the same with Manchester United and Arsenal.

"I was brought up that way and that's always been the way forward. Maybe it's time to really look at how we are teaching kids to play. Is there talent coming through? To be honest, I don't know."