February 03, (THEWILL) – Everton has confirmed the appointment of Ashley Cole as First-Team Coach at the Toffees.
The former England defender joins from Chelsea’s academy, adding to assistant manager Joe Edwards and Duncan Ferguson, first-team coach Paul Clement, first-team coach, Head of Performance, Chris Jones, and goalkeeping coach Alan Kelly, all of whom are part of new manager Frank Lampard’s talented backroom team.
Cole began his coaching career with Derby County after concluding his illustrious playing career with the Rams, before accompanying former Chelsea and England teammate Frank Lampard to Stamford Bridge in October 2019 as an academy coach.
He was a part of the launch of England Football Learning’s International Player to Coach (IP2C) programme in 2021, which helps past and current international players transition into coaching and management.
Cole was named England Under-21s assistant manager last summer, working alongside head coach and former Everton midfielder Lee Carsley.
Lampard stated, “I’m delighted to add Ashley into my backroom team. Everyone knows about his superb playing career and what he has achieved in the game.
“He is now a well-respected coach which has been recognised by his work with England Under-21s. He’ll bring a wealth of enthusiasm, game-play experience and is a very good young coach who adds strength to our coaching staff.”
On his part, Cole added: “I was thrilled when Frank asked me to join him at Everton. This is a brilliant opportunity with a fantastic club and I am coming here to work hard and try to help bring success to Everton.
“The chance to link up again with Frank was another huge draw. He is an excellent manager and leader. With the rest of the staff here, we have everything in place for what we want to achieve together.”
Jude Obafemi is a versatile senior Correspondent at THEWILL Newspapers, excelling in sourcing, researching, and delivering sports news stories for both print and digital publications.
