Can you tell Crystal Palace are desperate? They are reportedly challenging Bolton Wanderers and Hull City for Carlton Cole.
Understandably, Crystal Palace supporters aren’t too optimistic about their hopes of ending a record-breaking six-game goal drought at the start of the new season.
Not after Christian Benteke, top scorer last season with 15 goals and the only fit and senior centre-forward on the club’s books, has been ruled out for six weeks with a knee injury.
And reports in the Daily Star that Palace have identified unattached 33-year-old Carlton Cole as a potential short-term stop-gap has hardly given beleaguered Eagles’ fans reason to believe that their profligate side will be back among the goals sooner rather than later.
After all, Cole may be a former England international but he has not scored a league goal in two years and, after seeing his two-year contract at Celtic terminated after just eight months, failed to find the net during short lived spells with US lower league side Sacramento Republic and Indonesian randomers Persib Bandung.
And, just to make matters worse for Palace, the report adds that Cole would prefer a more secure move to the Championship with both Hull City and Bolton Wanderers keen. Hull may be the Championship’s joint second highest goalscorers but, with star striker Abel Hernandez out until the new year with injury, attacking reinforcements may be welcome.
Suddenly, chairman Steve Parish’s insistence that the club did not need another striker in the summer transfer window is looking rather questionable.
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