Sam Allardyce has confirmed that Carlton Cole is expected to sign a short-term deal with the club after improving his fitness over the last few weeks.
Cole was told to get fit enough to earn a contract at Upton Park after spending the entire pre-season as a free-agent and has been training on a daily basis for the last month.
And Allardyce has confirmed that Cole is just days away from being offered a short-term contract, believed to be for an initial three-months.
He told whufc.com: “We’ve had Carlton training with us for a while now and as soon as he’s fit enough to play there will be an offer on the table.
“That’s why he’s here with us and that’s why we’re trying to improve his fitness having missed pre-season. As soon as he’s ok and suitable terms and conditions have been agreed, which is nothing to do with me, then he’ll join us for however long the contract is negotiated for.
“I think we’re into days now [until a contract is signed]. We’ll play a couple of behind closed doors games just to let him get some match practice and then we’ll take it from there.”
Allardyce also praised Cole’s attitude and the club’s ability to keep him fit under specialised training programmes designed solely for him.
“One of the beauties of this football club is that this club’s kept him fit for a long time during his career,” he added.
“Carlton has certain training programmes that were built to suit him and keep him available for a selection on a Saturday afternoon. It’s always worked very well during the time I’ve been here.”
