West Ham United is delighted to announce the signing of
England under-21 striker Carlton Cole from Chelsea for an
undisclosed fee.
The 22-year-old has agreed a four-year deal at Upton Park and
becomes Alan Pardew's third summer signing following the
arrivals of Lee Bowyer and Jonathan Spector last month.
A product of the youth academy system at Stamford Bridge, Carlton
made his first team debut for our London rivals as an 18-year-old
substitute against Everton in April 2002, and then scored on his
first start just weeks later against Middlesbrough.
The following season, he enjoyed a brief loan spell at
Wolverhampton Wanderers but still managed to make 16 league and cup
appearances for Chelsea, before heading out on loan again at the
start of the 2003-04 campaign, to Charlton Athletic on a
season-long deal.
After five goals in 22 appearances for Alan Curbishley's men,
Carlton returned to Stamford Bridge hoping for an opportunity under
new coach Jose Mourinho but, following the £24million signing
of Didier Drogba that summer, he was forced to head for pastures
new again in search of regular first team football.
This time, it was Aston Villa who snapped up the promising young
striker on a 12-month loan spell, during which time Mourinho saw
enough to declare that Cole would be staying put at Stamford Bridge
for the 2005-06 campaign, as Chelsea attempted to retain their
Premiership title and add European Champions League glory to the
pot.
However, with Drogba and Hernan Crespo scoring regularly, Carlton
again found his chances restricted last season. He made nine
substitute appearances in the Premiership and scored on his one and
only start - a 2-1 FA Cup third round win over Huddersfield Town.
Throughout his time at Stamford Bridge, the Surrey-born striker has
remained a regular on the international scene with England,
appearing for the under-19 and under-20 sides, and scoring four
goals in 15 appearances for the under-21 team.
Tipped by many to make the step-up to full international level in
the future, he joins up with under-21 colleagues Anton Ferdinand
and Nigel Reo-Coker to become the latest highly-rated young English
player to agree a long-term deal with West Ham United.
Exclusive reaction from Alan Pardew and Carlton Cole
to follow shortly…