West Ham have agreed a fee of around £1m with Bournemouth for Carlton Cole but the player has yet to agree to the move.
The striker is currently in talks with The Cherries and there is no problem over the fee with the Championship outfit’s owners.
A well placed Irons insider told ClaretandHugh this morning that a fee of around £1 million had been agreed between the two clubs and that it was now down to the player .
A Hammers source said: “The fee is around that sort of figure but we are not sure whether they can afford Carlton’s wages. The ball is in his court.”
However, The Cherries are well placed financially and recently landed a £5 million plus cash windfall from the sale of Adam Lallana who was poached from their academy as a youngster.
The Cherries had a 25 per cent of any sell on clause put in which has now given them a welcome addition to their finances.
A Bournemouth source told us: “Everybody here is hoping it happens – Carlton is exactly what we need at the moment.
There are two sides to calton cole. On the one side he is a lovely fella who has loyally stuck by his club.
On the other hand he doesn’t have the necessary class to play in the prem and his second touch is a tackle.
It is also true there would be many fans who would be sad to see cole leave the club but in such circumstances we must not let our hearts rule our head.
So if there has been an offer for the big man then we should let him go. After all we are well served for strikers and his wages would free up vital funds to strengthen in other more important areas, ie at centre half. COYI!
I’ve read elsewhere that this rumour may be a hoax – I always thought Eddie Howe was a pretty shrewd up and coming Manager and just can’t see him going for someone like Carlton Cole.
I half hope it is true because I think the end is getting close for Carlton at West Ham – he was truly hopeless against Tottenham!
Not a hoax according to a well placed source