Cole: I'm delighted for West Ham but I have unfinished business at Anfield

Joe Cole had just finished talking about his memorable year in France when he swiftly turned his gaze to the future.

Having seen his season long-loan in France end with him being given a standing ovation by Lille’s supporters, Cole could have been forgiven if he felt a mixture of wistfulness and anxiety. Instead there was clarity and a sense of purpose.

Though West Ham are eager to give Cole an emotional return to Upton Park and Lille would be open to taking him back for another 12 months, the Liverpool midfielder is still holding out hope he will be able to rectify the one anomaly in his career.

Revitalised: Joe Cole (right) has been a hit in France after joining Lille on loan

‘When I signed for Liverpool, it startled me a bit,’ said Cole, who was brought to Anfield by Roy Hodgson two years ago in a blaze of publicity. ‘I don’t know if I felt the pressure but the city is so in love with football. It’s a religion. If I go back, I will be more prepared for it this time.

‘I can see why people say (joining Liverpool) is a culture shock. It is a small place but it has this great buzz. How can there not be in a city that has produced five Prime Ministers and The Beatles? The people are so sharp, quite a bit like Londoners really.

‘There is still a part of me that would really love to make it work there and I don’t want to have a bad spell at Anfield on my CV. But it is out of my hands now. At the minute I can’t rule anything in or out. We have got to speak to Liverpool and see what happens there.’

Cole’s spell at Liverpool is widely-regarded as a disaster, with his performances betrayed by a lack of confidence and a series of injuries. He barely figured after Kenny Dalglish replaced Hodgson but the Scot’s departure might yet offer him a surprise opportunity.

Adventure: Cole's career has been given a boost after going stale at Liverpool

Seeing Cole, 30, flourish alongside Eden Hazard in Sunday’s 4-1 win over Nancy confirmed he had recaptured his confidence and, given how much havoc injuries had wreaked in recent years, there is little doubt he has benefitted from playing regularly.

‘I’ve definitely broaden my horizons,’ said Cole. ‘I managed to do an interview the other day completely in French. It’s very basic but it’s just the aspect of living in another country. Now I can appreciate the difficulties that foreign players have coming to England.

‘We have got this great league on our doorstep and I am gladly I have experienced it. There were a lot of hurdles to overcome. But this is something we will be able to look back on with great fondness. Who is to say it is going to end?

One of the boys: Cole must now decide where his future lies

‘It was exactly what I needed. It is a bit slower, a bit more tactical. But this has helped me gain confidence in my body again. I have been able to learn about the tactical side of the game. Foreign players tend to embrace that more than we do.’

His critics, though, will claim that a spell away from the helter-skelter pace of the Premier League may actually prove detrimental. The tempo of Ligue 1 is significantly slower and Cole is well aware that he will have questions to answer should he return to England.

’I will have to do extra work because it will be going back to that 100mph pace but I’m sure it will be okay,’ explained Cole, who said he was “delighted” by the exploits of Chelsea and West Ham at the weekend.

Anfield return? Joe Cole

‘It’s not England, it’s not Spain – they are the two top leagues. But it is comparable with Germany and Italy. This is a very good league. Now I have got to keep thinking ahead. ’

That is very much how it has been for Cole in France, never looking back or thinking what might have been. Some felt he had an outside chance of being involved in Hodgson’s squad for Euro 2012 but rather than stew on that disappointment, he hopes another door will open with Team GB.

‘I haven’t played for England for two years,’ he said. ‘I know there is a new manager but I was never contacted. I heard there were strange things going on with the odds of me being cut to make the squad and that made me think “maybe”.