6. Carlton Cole (England)
Position: Striker Age: 29 Former Club: West Ham Cole can probably feel aggrieved that he temporarily found himself available as a free transfer at the comparatively tender age of 29 when Shola Ameobi can still pick up a contract, and occasionally trouble the first team at Newcastle. Even more annoyingly for the big striker who hasn't ever scored more than 15 league goals (and that was in the Championship) is that Sam Allardyce seems remarkably keen on replacing him with Ameobi in the game. This one is strictly for the pre-release version of the game, since Cole has no returned to West Ham, but that doesn't mean he's not a strong signing for anyone taking their pre-release save game into the full version of the game at launch. He's probably best for low Premier League teams and some upwardly mobile Championship clubs (though his wage demands of close to £30k are somewhat eye-watering to say the least,) but he's a good option at that level.