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Joe Cole urges Chelsea to keep hold of Willian, Pedro, Olivier Giroud

By Barney Corkhill, Editor | 19 April 2020

Joe Cole urges Chelsea to keep hold of out-of-contract trio

Former Chelsea midfielder Joe Cole urges Chelsea to harness the experience of out-of-contract duo Willian, Pedro and Olivier Giroud.

Former Chelsea midfielder Joe Cole has urged the club to keep hold of "world-class" out-of-contract trio Olivier Giroud, Pedro and Willian.

The trio are all set to leave the club at the end of the 2019-20 campaign as things stand, with Chelsea unwilling to meet their demands for contract extensions due to their policy for players over the age of 30.

However, Cole believes that the Blues would be wise to harness their experience at a time where a group of young players are breaking into the first team at Stamford Bridge.

"Rightly so, we've credited the young players at Chelsea because they've come through, burst onto the scene and been amazing," Cole is quoted as saying by the Evening Standard.

"But Giroud, Willian and Pedro are three top-class players who have been really massive for the club, particularly Willian, who's a club legend, the players and the fans love him. I hope they can hang onto that experience – if they want to be part of this new, exciting team that they're building.

"They can use that experience in the same way that Manchester United hung onto Ryan Giggs, Paul Scholes, Gary and Phil Neville.

"If they can accept that role where they're coming in – that they might not play as much as they used to but they're helping blood an era which could be as good as any era in the club's history – then there's a role to play for all of them. I think they're all world-class players and it would be tough for any club to replace those three."

Frank Lampard has ushered the likes of Tammy Abraham, Mason Mount, Fikayo Tomori and Reece James into the senior set-up during his first season in charge at Chelsea.