I'm a huge fan of Cole, think he's the third best English player around (after Gerrard and Terry). He's got it all, he works (reasonably) hard, got terrific skills on the ball and a decent shot.
Can't see him coming though, but he'd probably do well in a 4-3-3 in the same role as Milner has played (not saying we need to replace Milner, as [this is painful for ME to say] he's been very impressive this season).