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A Thanksgiving Day gift from the English papers to D.C. United fans everywhere is the beginning of silly season! According to a local English paper, D.C. United is monitoring West Ham United midfielder Joe Cole, who is apparently falling out of favor with West Ham United and coach Sam Allardyce. If this report is to be believe, which is unlikely, the Chicago Fire and and FC Dallas are also interested in the former Liverpool and Chelsea man. For his part, Joe Cole is denying that he is falling out with West Ham and is committed to his time with the team. This reads like a typical English transfer story that has little or no relationship to the truth.
To me, a Joe Cole signing would seem to be a combination of high expense due to his resume as a former English national team player along with declining returns as a player. I would assume that a player like Joe Cole would require a designated player contract, but I don't know if he can provide the requisite production to live up to that contract. With Toronto FC possibly getting a player like Jermaine Defoe and the profile of the league quickly rising, the model of spending too much money on older Premier League players isn't as attractive as it used to be.
