Ashley Cole gives Chelsea transfer Ben Chilwell the stamp of approval

Tom Dutton27 August 2020

Ashley Cole gave Chelsea's latest signing Ben Chilwell the stamp of approval long before the England international sealed his £50million move to Stamford Bridge.

Chilwell put pen to paper on a five-year deal with the Blues on Wednesday, joining Hakim Ziyech and Timo Werner as recent arrivals, and the defender is unlikely to be the last through the door before the transfer window closes.

The 23-year-old has long been one of Frank Lampard's priority targets, and speaking back in December - when reports of Chelsea's interest first emerged - Cole backed Chilwell to succeed at Stamford Bridge.

Cole, who is arguably Chelsea's best-ever left-back, won several medals including the Champions League with the Blues and said of Chilwell last year: "I would love to see him at Chelsea. He's doing really, really well at Leicester.

"He's enjoying the way [Leicester manager] Brendan [Rodgers] players and his system, he's got that licence to attack.

"When he's played for England he's played well - in his last game he got three assists. He's shown quality not just on the ball, but one-on-one he can defend and he likes to defend.

"I think he's quality and I've heard he's a Chelsea fan, too, so I would like to see him here. He's got the quality. For sure he's good enough."

Chilwell - who made his Leicester debut aged 18 in October 2015 before going on to make 123 appearances, 99 in the Premier League - said: "I am delighted to be joining Chelsea at this very exciting time for the club.

Chelsea 2020 summer transfer window

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"I'm looking forward to being a part of this young, dynamic squad led by Frank Lampard as we challenge for honours next season.

"I can't wait to get started and hopefully it won't be long before we're playing in front of the Chelsea fans at Stamford Bridge."

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