The Premier League considers inclusion in its Hall of Fame as the highest individual honour it can bestow on a player or manager, recognising those who have made an extraordinary contribution to the competition’s history since it began back in 1992.

Cole is one of five Blues among the 24 players who have received that distinction – the others being Petr Cech, John Terry, Frank Lampard and Didier Drogba – while Fabregas and Hazard have both been named on the 15-man shortlist to be added in 2025.

The former Blues left-back is well placed to judge why those two deserve a spot in the pantheon of Premier League greats, having played alongside them both. That started with a teenage Fabregas, when they lined up together at Arsenal for the Spaniard’s league debut in 2004, before both made the move to Stamford Bridge later in their careers.

On Fabregas, Cole said: ‘We were team-mates at Arsenal when he was a young talent. Even at that age, he had a very strong maturity about him, he could change and affect games. He could defend and attack, he could play blind balls to assist goals.

‘Through the years of the Premier League, he showed his quality and game intelligence. He’s one of the best midfielders the Premier League has ever had.’

Cole and Hazard were at opposite ends of their Chelsea careers when they played together for two years in west London. Those were Hazard’s first in England and Cole’s last before departing for Roma, although they won the 2013 UEFA Europa League as team-mates during that time.

‘Eden was a player that had the ability to change a game within a second,’ continued Cole, moving on to the four-time Chelsea Player of the Year.

‘You’d give him the ball, trust him with the ball and he could turn left, right or take on three or four players and he had end product.

‘One of the best players in the Premier League; he produced a lot of magic moments, wonderful goals. People refer to Eden as a one-man team, you don’t often get spoken about like that.

‘He defined the way a winger receives the ball. As a coach now, I look at players, can they receive facing forwards? Eden always received the ball with his back to goal, and he was so effective.’

Two players will be inducted into the Premier League Hall of Fame in 2025, and you can cast your vote for Hazard and Fabregas here until Monday 15 September.

After such a ringing endorsement from a three-time Premier League winner – including Chelsea’s 2010 domestic Double – like Cole, who are we to disagree?