Carlton Cole

Carlton Michael Cole Okirie is an English football player who currently features for the English Premier League club West Ham United. He plays as a striker and was once considered as one of the most promising young English players.

Carlton Cole developed at the youth academy of London side Chelsea and made his debut for the first team in April 2002 against Everton as a substitute for Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink. He started his first match for Chelsea against Middlesbrough at the Riverside Stadium three weeks later.

Although Carlton Cole was part of the Chelsea set-up until 2006 but he could feature in only 25 Premier League matches and scored 4 goals. During his stay with Chelsea, he was sent on loan to Wolverhampton Wanderers, Charlton Athletic and Aston Villa. Cole was quite impressive in those loan stints, especially at the Valley and the Villa Park.

In 2006 Carlton Cole was signed by West Ham United for an undisclosed fee on a four-year deal and has developed to be an important player for the Hammers. He has loads of potential and still has the time to improve and better himself.