“He’s fallen off” – Joe Cole cautious of Super Eagles striker form amidst Chelsea links

Joe Cole played for West Ham United, Chelsea, Liverpool, Coventry, LOSC Lille, and Tampa Bay Rowdies, amassing almost seven hundred career games.

Former Chelsea and Liverpool attacking midfielder, Joe Cole, has expressed concerns over the form of Super Eagles and Napoli striker, Victor Osimhen, despite his goal against Barcelona, Soccernet.ng reports.

Joe Cole, 42, played 281 games for Chelsea, scoring 39 goals and assisting another 45 playing as an attacking midfielder.

His beloved Chelsea have been linked with Napoli’s Victor Osimhen as Mauricio Pochettino’s men have struggled for goals up front in the absence of a central figure in attack.

Osimhen, 25, returned from the AFCON 2023 tournament and was back amongst the goals in Napoli’s midweek clash against Barcelona, but Joe Cole maintains that the standards of the CAF Player of the Year has dropped a little.

Speaking with TNT Sports, the former England international was quizzed about the striker he feels could be the next big thing after Erling Haaland.

“Osimhen was the one this time last year. Everyone was looking at and then he’s fallen off a little bit. Rasmus Hojlund I think has got a chance. I think one or two of them will emerge out of that group. Dusan Vlahovic is very good technically and a good finisher. Darwin Nunez does unbelievably well with his all-round game and he needs to brush up on that side,” the three-time English Champion said in quotes revealed by Chelsea News.

Concerning Chelsea’s set-up and his personal preference, Joe Cole admitted Osimhen is still his preferred option, tipping him to be the next big thing.

“If you’re asking me for one, I’d probably go with Osimhen. He would be the one but I’m going from six months ago not from at the moment. Any of those four could do it,” he added.

The former Wolfsburg forward has scored nine goals in nineteen games in all competitions for Napoli this season and has also been linked with a move to Paris Saint-Germain.