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West Ham striker Carlton Cole is at the centre of a transfer deadline day tussle between Queens Park Rangers and West Brom.
The Hammers are also looking at the possibility of Cole moving abroad, possibly to Turkey, in a swap deal.
The club’s overwhelming priority as the clock ticks down, though, is to sign a central defender following injuries to Winston Reid, James Collins and James Tomkins.Co-owner David Sullivan is working in tandem with manager Sam Allardyce in an effort to bring in defenders. One possibility is Senegalese player Kara Mbodj, who plays for Belgian club Genk.
Another name being mentioned is Czech Republic defender Ondrej Mazuch, who plays for Ukrainian club Dnipro.
Andy Carroll, meanwhile, is likely to be out for two weeks after damaging an ankle in Saturday’s 2-0 defeat by Liverpool.
