West Ham accept Stoke Cole offer

West Ham have accepted an undisclosed bid from Stoke to take striker Carlton Cole to the Britannia Stadium.

The Hammers are thought to have successfully offered in the region of £4m plus £2m in add-ons for the 27-year-old, who had been expected to leave following last season’s relegation.

The England international, a long-term target of Potters manager Tony Pulis, is currently with his teammates at a training camp in Switzerland. He is expected to discuss personal terms when he returns.

"Now we've done a deal with [West Ham] it really needs [Pulis’s] input with the player because he likes to talk to them and make sure they are on board, and he is on board and everything is okay from his point of view,” chairman Peter Coates told Sky Sports News. “But we see that work in progress and hope that something can be done."

Cole joined West Ham from Chelsea in 2006, since which he has scored 42 goals in 165 appearances.