Ashley Cole will work with a very familiar name after landing his first managerial role.
The 45-year-old, who has worked as an assistant coach at Chelsea, Everton, Birmingham and Derby since hanging up his boots in 2019, has been appointed manager of Serie B side Cesena until the end of the season.
In a statement, the club said: "The entire Cesena FC family is thrilled to welcome manager Ashley Cole to lead the Bianconeri first team and extends a warm welcome to him and his staff in Cesena, wishing them all the best of luck in this new adventure."
Cole arrives at Cesena following the sacking of Michele Mignani, who was dismissed after a run of seven matches without a win.
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Given their recent form, Cole and the rest of his backroom staff, which includes former Chelsea academy coach Jack Mesure, have a tough task on their hands, but they will be hoping to lean on the likes of Jonathan Klinsmann.
Klinsmann, the son of former Tottenham Hotspur and Germany forward Jurgen Klinsmann, has been a first-team regular for the second-tier club this season, making 30 appearances in all competitions.
The 28-year-old has featured for his county at youth level and previously played for German side Hertha Berlin, as well as MLS outfit LA Galaxy.
Jonathan recently opened up about the pressure of being Jurgen Klinsmann’s son.
“There’s definitely pressure,” he told The Athletic last year. “It’s just the feeling of needing to prove yourself. I want to be able to show that I’m here for a reason. Knowing that people will always have something to say, I need to be good.”
He also revealed why Jurgen was happy about his decision to become a goalkeeper.
“My dad was really happy about that,” he recalls. “It was like, you know, ‘You’re going to become a professional at this age and he (Jurgen) had already had this many goals and appearances at that age and so on.’"
“That could have been pretty difficult," he added. "At the end of the day, there’s still going to be comparisons, but it was fun when I went in goal. My first goalkeeper coach at Bayern made it so fun and that was the biggest thing at that age.
"I fell in love with the position. It all kind of stems from your experience as a kid.”
Two teams are automatically promoted to Serie A, with a play-off involving teams from third to eighth deciding the final spot. Cesena are currently 19 points behind third-place Frosinone.
Topics: Ashley Cole, Premier League
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