Aston Villa must avoid signing Ashley Cole three years after Remi Garde failed to

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Ashley Cole is currently available on a free transfer. The left-back, who has 107 caps for England, has come to the end of his current deal at LA Galaxy and been released, Whilst a £5,000-a-week offer is on the table, according to The Sun, it appears a move back to the UK could be on the cards.

One team who have been tentatively linked are Aston Villa. They are one of the bookies’ favourites to sign the player to strengthen their defensive frailties. The presence of John Terry, a good friend of Cole’s, in the Aston Villa dressing room would seem a major factor.

Of course, this is not the first time that Astin Villa have tried to sign the player. As reported by the Telegraph in December 2015, Aston Villa wanted to sign the former Arsenal and Chelsea player to help them in their seemingly doomed relegation battle.

The Aston Villa boss at the time was Remi Garde, who knew Cole from their time at Arsenal together.

“Every good player is interesting for me and Ashley is a good player.

“He is someone who has experience but he didn’t play for a while now. Experience is also something we need.”

– Remi Garde admits wanting Cole in December 2015

However, Cole left Roma for Los Angeles instead and Aston Villa were relegated.

Now, three years on, it appears some would like Aston Villa to go for Cole again. However, surely Aston Villa need to start looking forward. At 37-years-old Cole is not a long-term option for the club who, under Dean Smith, have revitalised their promotion challenge.

Aston Villa need to bring in defensive reinforcements in the winter. However, Cole would be a backward step.