Joe Cole appears set to return to where it all began at West Ham. Here, we take a closer look at the former England international
1981: Born Camden, November 8.
1998: Signs professional forms with West Ham.
1999: January - Makes first-team debut in FA Cup tie with Swansea at Upton Park.
May - Helps the Hammers win the FA Youth Cup with two-legged final win over Coventry.
November - Scores first goal for first team in League Cup.
2000: September - Called up to the England squad for a friendly against France in Paris, but fails to play.
2001: February 12 - Scores eight minutes from time in 1-1 Premiership draw with Coventry.
May 25 - Makes England debut as a substitute in 4-0 win over Mexico at Pride Park.
2002: June - Selected in England's World Cup squad. Makes one appearance, as a substitute in the 1-1 draw with Sweden.
2003: June 3 - Scores first goals for England in 2-1 win over Serbia and Montenegro at Leicester.
August 5 - Completes £6.6million move to Chelsea.
2004: June 2 - Named in England's Euro 2004 squad, but fails to make an appearance in Portugal.
2005: February 27 - Starts Carling Cup final win over Liverpool.
May - Wins Premier League with Chelsea having scored eight goals during the season.
September 3 - Scores the only goal as England beat Wales in a World Cup qualifier.
2006: April - Named in the PFA team of the year.
May - Wins Premier League for the second time, again scoring eight goals.
May 8 - Named in England's 23-man squad for 2006 World Cup in Germany.
June 20 - Scores a spectacular goal as England beat Sweden to reach the last 16.
July 1 - Substituted in the quarter-final against Portugal following Wayne Rooney's dismissal.
2007: January - Undergoes surgery on a stress fracture in his foot.
May 19 - Plays the first half of Chelsea's FA Cup final victory over Manchester United.
2008: May - Receives Chelsea player of the year award having scored 10 goals in all competitions.
2009: January 14 - Suffers cruciate knee ligament damage, ruling him out for the rest of the season.
2010: April 3 - Scores opening goal at Old Trafford with a clever backheel as Chelsea earn crucial 2-1 win en route to Barclays Premier League title.
June 27 - Comes on for half an hour as England crash out of the World Cup in the last 16 with a 4-1 defeat to Germany.
July 19 - Signs for Liverpool on a four-year contract.
August 15 - Sent off on his league debut for the club against Arsenal.
2011: August 31 - Joins Lille on a season-long loan, going on to score nine goals in 42 appearances for the French club.
2013: January 3 - Understood to be having a medical ahead of a return to West Ham.
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