Gary Caldwell struck Exeter City transfer gold - legend status looms after Plymouth exploits | OneFootball

Reece Cole showed his class v Plymouth Argyle and he's fast becoming an Exeter City legend. He's contracted until 2027, but maybe he stays longer.

Not much was expected of Reece Cole when he arrived at Exeter City in the summer of 2023.

He had been knocking about in non-league after falling out of love with the game, spending time at Chertsey Town and Hayes & Yeading after leaving Dunfermline Athletic in 2022.

He even worked as a PE teacher to pay the bills and a thriving career in the EFL looked a long way off.

However, Grecians boss Gary Caldwell had worked with him before at Partick Thistle and threw a lifeline to the midfielder, now 27, who came in on trial before quickly earning a professional deal down in Devon's capital.

He was an instant hit with the City faithful, and he racked up 39 appearances in his first full season, scoring seven and setting up three more.

His personality, driving on-pitch style and technical quality endeared him to the Exeter fans, and it was no surprise that the Grecians' worst spell in that topsy-turvy season came while he was out injured in the long, dark winter months of 2023/24.

Absence makes the heart grow fonder, and he missed much of last season with a series of niggly injuries that limited him to 22 League One appearances with three goals and no assists in what was quite a bleak and lifeless season for City.

Reece Cole's Devon derby display impresses

This season has, again, been slightly curtailed by injury, but he's back in top form and showed his class in the 2-0 Devon derby win over Plymouth Argyle at St James Park last week.

He was in the right place at the right time to capitalise on a defensive calamity from the Pilgrims to calmly slot home from range, curling the ball past a stricken keeper Conor Hazard with just enough power to open the scoring to the delirium of the red element of Devon.

The Brentford academy product celebrated with glee, running the length of the miserable away end happily "shhing" as he went before celebrating with the home fans.

It doesn't sound like much, but it's those 10 seconds which encapsulate Cole at Exeter.

He just gets it. He celebrates wildly, he's got bravado, and he's certainly got the quality to back it up at this level.

Reece Cole and Exeter City a perfect match

If fitness hadn't been the issue it has for Cole over the last 12 months, perhaps Championship clubs might have already come knocking. There have been online murmurs of interest but nothing concrete yet.

He could certainly hold his own at one of the top-end League One clubs, but he might not have the freedom, be the fulcrum, or have so much fun elsewhere.

Like with so many players who have plied their trade in Devon's capital over the years, maybe he just suits Exeter and maybe Exeter just suits him.

Cole is out of contract at the end of the season, but City hold the option of a one-year extension that they will surely trigger if fresh terms can't be reached sooner for whatever reason.

He is City's best all-round player by some distance and has been since his arrival.

Exeter City fans hoping Reece Cole stays long term

And, with moments like those last Thursday and his famous post-win celebrations, Cole is well on his way to becoming a fully-fledged City great.

Everyone at Exeter is hoping he can stay fit and, unlike most who do well, there's a chance he might stay beyond the end of his contract.

Cole knows what it's like to fall out of the professional game, and it certainly looks like he's loving it at the moment.

With a series of slightly underwhelming moves under his belt before he headed to the south west, he might just think that the grass isn't greener and that Exeter is where it's at for him going forward.

Let's just hope Cole is also tempted to stay to the end of 2027 and beyond and build a real legacy at St James Park in the mould of other great creative midfield Grecians like David Noble and Ryan Harley.