Carlton Michael Cole Okirie (born November 12, 1983,[1] in Croydon, London, England) is an English football player who plays for West Ham United.

Cole began his career as a trainee with Chelsea in 2001 and made his debut in April 2002 as a substitute for Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink in a 3-0 victory against Everton.[2] He made his first senior start three weeks later, scoring a goal as Chelsea beat Middlesbrough at the Riverside.[3] He made one more appearance for Chelsea in the 2001/02 season, in a 3-1 home defeat against Aston Villa in May 2002.[4] Cole started the 2002/03 season in the Chelsea first team squad, scoring a goal and making another in the opening game of the season in a 3-1 win over Charlton after coming on as a substitute for Zola.[5] He suffered a hairline fracture in his leg in August but returned to action in a Worthington Cup tie against Gillingham in November, scoring two goals.[6] Claudio Ranieri, the then manager of Chelsea, described Cole as being the best young player that he had ever coached, saying, "I`ve never coached a young player like Carlton. He`s fantastic even though he hasn`t really started his career yet. He has a very long contract, and, in my opinion, a very big future at Chelsea."[7] However, with Gudjohnsen, Hasselbaink and Zola available for selection, Cole`s first team opportunities were limited and he was loaned to Wolverhampton Wanderers in November 2002 for one month,[8] later extended to two months.[9] Having made seven appearances for Wolves, scoring one goal,[4] his loan spell was cut short as Chelsea, needing cover, recalled him early in January 2003.[10] Cole made a further twelve league and cup appearances for Chelsea in the 2002/03 season, in addition to the four that he made before going on loan to Wolves.[4] He scored six goals in all for Chelsea that season,[4] including a spectacular, left-footed volley against Sunderland,[11] and the winner against Bolton Wanderers in April 2003 as Chelsea pressed for a place in the Champions League.

Cole signed a new six-year contract with Chelsea in the summer of 2003,[13] but with Mutu, Gudjohnsen, Hasselbaink and Forssell also battling for a place in the starting lineup for Chelsea, he joined Charlton Athletic on a season-long loan in August 2003,[14] where he scored five goals in 22 league and cup appearances,[4] helping Charlton to finish the 2003/04 season in seventh place in the Premier League. Despite Charlton being keen to retain Cole`s services for the 2004/05 season,[15] Cole joined Aston Villa on another season-long loan.[16] This move sparked off a dispute as Charlton were expecting Cole to return to the club as part of the deal that took Scott Parker from Charlton to Chelsea.[17] The dispute was later resolved when the two clubs reached a settlement.[18] Cole scored three goals in 30 league and cup appearances for Aston Villa,[4] including a goal on his debut in a 2-0 win over Southampton in August 2004,[19] in a season which was interrupted by a knee injury picked up in an England U21 match against Holland U21 in February 2005.[20]

He returned to Chelsea in summer 2005 where he appeared in pre-season friendlies.[21] However, first team opportunities were limited by the presence of Drogba and Crespo,[22] and Cole made only 12 league and cup appearances for Chelsea in the 2005/06 season, scoring one goal in the FA Cup win over Huddersfield.[4] He joined West Ham United in July 2006,[23] having made a total of 31 leag