The British tabloids love nothing more than to whip up some transfer rumors as their season comes to a close.
But this one has been gathering pace for quite some time.
West Ham United striker Carlton Cole will not sign a new deal with West Hame United and is free to find himself a new destination.
According to these reports, three Major League Soccer sides are chasing Cole’s signature, along with three EPL sides and a handful of Championship sides.
The man is in demand.
I will spare you the suspense, the three MLS teams looking at Cole are D.C. United, the Houston Dynamo and the San Jose Earthquakes.
So would the English striker -- who has let it be know that the LA Galaxy would be his preferred club to join in MLS -- be a good fit for any of the aforementioned sides? Discuss.
Well, his physical approach and ability in the air would certainly see him fit in at San Jose. But does that mean one of Steven Lenhart, Alan Gordon or Adam Jahn are on the way out?
D.C. United about all the help they can get. And bringing in a player who has scored 57 in 237 games for West Ham may not solve all their problems. He is very similar to Lionard Pajoy and may not offer the clinical finisher United clearly lack.
Finally, the Houston Dynamo could definitely do with another body up top. Will Bruin had his hot start to the season he usually has... now he needs help. Giles Barnes has added goals and another Englishman Andrew Driver has injected life into Houston’s play. Could Dominic Kinnear dip into the British market once more?
Apparently Cole has his heart set on a move to the LA Galaxy, if you are to believe the reports from the Daily Mirror in England. But the fact that he is openly discussing MLS and that his plans involve snubbing other sides in England’s top flight (Southampton, Stoke and Hull) will be music to the ears of MLS fans.
I once saw Cole score a three-minute hat trick for Chelsea’s reserve side when he was a teenager. He has never fully reached the levels many expected him to get to, but he has played for England seven times.
(More: Titus Bramble heading to MLS?)
Cole may not be a huge, superstar name. And he did score just twice this season, but he’s involvement was restricted to sub appearances after Andy Carroll’s arrival and injury.
But he would certainly score plenty of goals in MLS and be a real menace. After leaving West Ham last week, Hammers chairman David Sullivan said the following of Cole.
Good luck @CarltonCole1 one of the nicest men I've ever met in football.
— David Gold (@davidgold) May 21, 2013
A nice guy, great goalscorer who has represented the English national team and spent most of his career tormenting EPL defenses... what are these MLS clubs waiting for.
Sign Cole up!