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"Chelsea\u2019s Ashley Cole has become the subject of transfer speculation in the wake of the Blues\u2019 policy to only offer one-year contract extensions to players over 30 years of age.The 31-year-old England international has been linked in recent weeks with a lucrative move to French Ligue 1 side Paris Saint-Germain in a potential reunion with former Blues boss Carlo Ancelotti. However, another former Chelsea manager, Jose Mourinho is thought to be interested in bringing the left-back to Real Madrid and he&amp;rsquo;s reportedly willing to compete financially with the big-spending French side. PSG are thought to be preparing a January swoop for the former Arsenal player after he voiced his concerns over his short-term contract deal with the West Londoners. But Mourinho is now reportedly attempting to hijack the move and re-route Cole to the Bernabeu with a &amp;pound;7million offer in January. Many still regard Cole as the best left-back in the world and, despite his advancing years, he still possesses great quality, both defensively and when called upon in the attacking third. To compound his contract dilemma, Cole now has worthy competition for his place in Roberto Di Matteo&amp;rsquo;s starting line-up in 23-year-old Ryan Bertrand who has come on leaps and bounds in the last few years. The player has spent 5 successive seasons out on loan, due to his path to regular first-team football being blocked so emphatically by Cole. Cole has spent the best part of his career at Stamford Bridge, transferring six years ago from London rivals Arsenal where he made his name for both club and country. He transferred for a miniscule &amp;pound;5million in 2006 in a deal which saw William Gallas travel in the opposite direction. He has since made 188 appearances for Chelsea and 99 for the England national side. Mourinho has been known to bring former players to the Bernabeu &amp;ndash; Ricardo Carvalho was drafted in from Chelsea in 2010 after becoming one of his former managers&amp;rsquo; favourites at Chelsea. Synonymously, Carlo Ancelotti secured the services of former Chelsea centre-back Alex when he was appointed coach at PSG. However, for a player that Gunners fans aptly nicknamed &amp;lsquo;Cashley Cole&amp;rsquo; for his financially motivated move away from the Emirates, I would be inclined to suggest numbers will be the motivating factor in any move the Englishman makes in the New Year."^^<http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#string>
<http://www.hitc.com/en-gb/2012/10/22/ashley-cole-to-real-madrid/>