‘Alex Ferguson asked me to walk out with Manchester United at the FA Cup final - I was a kid and was like, ‘It would be pretty cool though, dad?’ but my dad said no!’ Joe Cole on how he could have ended up alongside Red Devils legends

Joe Cole 2006 World Cup.

It was clear from an early age that Joe Cole had that X-factor.

Before he knuckled down at West Ham and burst onto the Premier League scene and made his Premier League debut at the age of 17, Cole’s early years saw him juggling trials and attracting the attention of the biggest clubs in the country.