Carlton Cole rejects Stoke City deal and stays on West Ham wage bill

Carlton Cole's proposed £4.5m transfer from West Ham United to Stoke City has collapsed. Stoke had agreed a fee with West Ham that would rise to £6m including add-ons but Cole has rejected the chance to move to the Britannia Stadium. Earlier in the week the Stoke chairman, Peter Coates, revealed that the Midlands club had failed to sign Cole on three previous occasions. Cole's failure to agree terms has left West Ham as well as Stoke disappointed. West Ham are keen to offload players to reduce their wage bill and free up funds to add to their squad. Tony Pulis, meanwhile, will be forced to turn his attention elsewhere in pursuit of a striker. The Stoke manager has already had a bid rejected for the Birmingham City forward Cameron Jerome.