Agencies
Former England defender Ashley Cole has arrived in Italy for a medical with AS Roma and is expected to sign a two-year deal with the Serie A club.
“Welcome to Rome, Ashley”, said the Italian club on its official Twitter feed, publishing a photo of the former Chelsea player on his arrival at Fiumicino airport on Monday morning.
According to the Italian media, left-back Cole is set to sign a two-year deal worth 2.3 million euro (Dh11.5m) a year, with an option for a third season, as Roma look to strengthen their squad ahead of their return to the Champions League next season.
Chelsea said goodbye to Cole last week after his trophy-laden eight years at Stamford Bridge where he won the Premier League, Champions League and Europa League, as well as four FA Cup titles.
The 33-year-old is a free agent following his release by Chelsea and had been linked with a number of teams in both the Premier League and Europe.
Cole, long a lynchpin of the Chelsea and England teams, had become a fringe player in Jose Mourinho’s squad last season.
The Portuguese coach preferred Cesar Azpilicueta at left back for much of the season in which Chelsea finished third behind champions Manchester City and Liverpool.
Cole made just 17 Premier League appearances, his lowest total in a single campaign for the club.
Since his move from Arsenal in 2006, he made 229 Premier League appearances in all for Chelsea.
Cole earned 107 England caps, but announced his retirement from international football before the World Cup after he was left out of Roy Hodgson’s squad for Brazil.
Roma are also close to signing Fenerbahce’s Salih Ucan, with the 20-year-old midfielder set to sign a two-year loan deal with an option to buy for a reported fee of 11 million euro.
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