Player Review

I'll start this off with the most important part. Unless you are sitting on millions of coins, this card simply is not worth it. For me it is a must as part of my chelsea past and present, but compared to others in this position 700k+ is rather overkill.

With the elephant in the room out of the way lets get on to the reasons why you do want this card.

Pace

Pace is obvious. With a base stat of 92 acceleration and 90 sprint speed he will keep up with anything thrown at him and more. I have tested him for 30 games now and in those 30 have come across your usual suspects. Showdown Origi was one that stood out the most to me. Cole's prime card did me solid service. But 95+ pace players were out of his zone. He could keep up with them but struggled to overtake them to steal the ball cleanly. This card solves that issue. Whilst on the ball no one will break away from him. An anchor was more than enough to give him end game pace.

Defending

Defending is the bread and butter of this card. Defensive wise I have never seen any fullback with as reliable animations as Cole. Recovery from standing tackles is outstanding. When you win possession with a tackle he is always the first to recover and reach the ball. Sliding animations are a little weaker but sliding in general is difficult to keep hold of the ball this year. I will say though, the dude is lubed up to the max. When he slides, he slides. Reach is remarkable for someone his size, and really helps him when caught guarding a knock on.

Defensive awareness is remarkeable. Very rarely did I find him out of position, and as someone who had my fullbacks set to stay back while attacking for a very long time, having a fullback that can be left on balanced opens up so many more options.

Interceptions I cannot comment on, my instructions are set to conservative as I would rather reliably close down a runner than get caught out by a dodgy animation.

Jockeying is where he stands out the most to me. I have faced very few fullbacks that have kept stride with me as well as Cole can do to others. Think Kante with a few extra inches. His agility gives you plenty of leniency in containing dribblers.

Physical

One of his weak points as a defender, and the main reason I play with anchor now. Stamina is phenomenal. Will run all game without any problem.

Aggression is also top notch. Will give his all while jostling and will pull back any winger that gets too close.

Jumping is sufficient. Will win headers from the front but don't expect him to win anything from behind.

Strength is the weakest point of this card. Which is good, because his strength isn't terrible. He will force his way in front of any winger you will come across, but when facing bigger players do not expect him to push them around, though he is more than capable of shielding the ball from them.

Dribbling

Dribbling for me is very important for a fullback, and Cole certainly ticks the box. He feels very responsive on the ball and although you won't be consistently doing 3 point turns on the ball with him you can easily strafe dribble your way out of a tricky situation. With the engine chemistry style on he becomes an extremely competent dribbler that would be, in my opinion, a phenomenal wing back that would only be topped by TOTY Cancelo.

Ball control is clean. Very few bad first touches, and can take balls in his stride at full speed. Very good for pass and go play down the side.

4* Skill moves is always a win. Nothing better than skilling past a winger whose been trying to skill past you all game.

Passing

With an anchor his passing is average. Both short and long passes will reach their target so long as it is the right pass. If you were to use an engine on him to raise his vision to that soft cap of 85+, then he becomes a beastly playmaker capable of picking long passes with precision, and with the added curve make over the tops very clean.

Crossing even without an engine card is very good. With the early crosser trait he can provide some amazing crosses into the box from anywhere near the final third.

In 30 games he has picked up 18 assists from purely crosses. He is my corner taker, and most of them have been from corners, but he is a threat being a lefty on the left.

b

Shooting

I get it. Moments cards have their niche. But getting the moments boost for a fullback being volleys and shot power is rough. I haven't found myself in the situation where Cole has been the one who had to score. Maybe if like Chelsea you are 7-0 up sure give him a chance on the half volley for a laugh, why not.

Overall

All in all, Cole is a rock. Defensively the most solid fullback I have seen with dribbling and passing good enough to feel comfortable pushing forward with.

Right now like I said he is rather expensive for what he is. Compare him to WW Tierney who is not even 1/6th of his price and Cole is just better at tackling, and not even by a huge amount. This is the reason I have rated him so low on value for money.

But if you have the funds and are looking for an upgrade in this position, you won't regret it.