Ashley Cole could be ready to leave Chelsea for high-roller Paris Saint-Germain.
Cole, 31, is a high-priority target for PSG and former Chelsea boss Carlo Ancelotti, according to the Mirror.
The left back is coming off of a highly successful season in which the Londoners won their first UEFA Champions League trophy. However, the England international is in the final year of his contract, and his employers have yet to open negotiations on a renewal.
While Chelsea continues to maintain that an offer will be forthcoming by the end of the transfer window (Aug. 31), it is thought that PSG may capitalize on the Blues’ feet-dragging by making a move for the former Arsenal man.
Chelsea has already let former core players Didier Drogba and Salomon Kalou depart on free transfers this window. Meanwhile speculation remains over the future of midfielder Frank Lampard, who has flirted with a move to Major League Soccer.
Manager Roberto Di Matteo may be carrying out the kind of overhaul that ex-manager Andre Villas-Boas had in mind when he took over the club before last season. Chelsea owner Roman Abramovich paid a small fortune to FC Porto to bring in Villas-Boas and charged the Portuguese with overhauling an aging squad.
When performances suffered and senior players (including John Terry, Lampard, and Cole) bucked at the new manager’s revolution, Villas-Boas was fired and Di Matteo given the reigns on an interim basis.
With a Champions League title belt hanging around his waist, Di Matteo has spent the summer re-vamping the squad around a younger core of Eden Hazard, Juan Mata, and Oscar amongst others.
Now, with young Englishman Ryan Bertrand nipping at his heels, the question is whether Cole will be the next veteran to leave Stamford Bridge.
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