Cole could Bag reunion -West Brom deal in the offing for ex-Hammer

CARLTON COLE is being lined up for a reunion with mentor Steve Clarke at West Brom.

The Baggies boss is keen on the former West Ham striker, who has been released on a free transfer.

But he faces competition from Scottish side Celtic.

Clarke is credited with turning around Cole’s career when he teamed up with Gianfranco Zola to manage at Upton Park.

The pair also know each other well from their time together at Chelsea.

Clarke needs a new striker as he must hand back loan star Romelu Lukaku to Chelsea — although any new man will have his work cut out to replace his 17 Premier League goals.

Cole, 29, scored only twice for West Ham last season but was sidelined for much of the campaign by the arrival of Andy Carroll.

He scored 15 times the year before to help fire the Hammers to promotion from the Championship.

Cole earned around £40,000 a week at West Ham and could pick up a small pay rise by joining Albion because no transfer fee would be involved.