Jermain Defoe Claims West Ham Had “Amazing” Academy Player Who Was Better Than Max Dowman
Ex-West Ham forward Jermain Defoe says Joe Cole possessed more talent than Arsenal’s Max Dowman at the same age.
Many pundits have been raving about the Gunners starlet since he made his first-team breakthrough at 15, but speaking to William Hill‘s podcast, The Warm-Up, Defoe said:
“When I was a youth player, I heard a lot about this kid called Joe Cole. I remember there was a lot of noise around the East End about me and Leon Knight when we were youth players. They used to call us [Dwight] Yorke and [Andy] Cole – he scored a lot of goals in his district and so did I, then we came together, but I kept hearing a lot about this Joe Cole kid.”
“I always thought me and Knighty were the main ones, but the first time I saw Joe Cole, I was like, ‘I’ve never seen anything like this before’.”
“Even now, with all the kids in the current academies, Mikey Moore comes close, then obviously you’ve got Max Dowman, but as a young 14-15 year old, I’ve never seen anything like Joe Cole. He was quicker with the ball than without. He was just amazing.”
West Ham lost Cole after relegation
The Irons were relegated to the second tier in 2003, but the teenager had still been named Hammer of the Year for his performances.
It was therefore a huge blow when Cole rejected a new contract and decided to join Chelsea for £6.6m.
While the playmaker did have a brief second spell with the Hammers between January 2013 and June 2014, he was past his prime at that point.
West Ham’s academy continues to produce gems
While it is rare for players like Cole to come through the ranks, the Hammers are still producing top-level youth products.
Josh Ajala made his debut against Portsmouth in the Carabao Cup at the start of the season, and he proceeded to score a brace in the second round of the competition against Southampton.