Former England striker Carlton Cole has signed for the Indonesian team Persib Bandung, where he will be reunited with former Chelsea team-mate Michael Essien.

The 33-year-old, who last played for the American team Sacramento Republic last year, has signed a 10-month deal with the club, with the option of an extension.

He underwent a medical in Bandung on Wednesday and was officially presented by the club on Thursday morning.

Former England striker Carlton Cole has joined the Indonesian club Persib Bandung

Carlton Cole has signed a 10-month deal to play for the Indonesian club this season

The ex-Chelsea and West Ham front man will wear the No 12 shirt at his new club

Cole (right) pictured with Michael Essien (left) and agent Godfrey Torto in Indonesia

The former Chelsea and West Ham striker was greeted by a bank of photographers

CARLTON COLE CV 2001–06: Chelsea 2002–03: Wolves (loan) 2003–04: Charlton Athletic (loan) 2004–05: Aston Villa (loan) 2006–13: West Ham United 2013–15: West Ham United 2015–16: Celtic 2016–17: Sacramento Republic 2017–: Persib Bandung Advertisement

Cole told the club's official website: 'I never knew my career would bring me to Indonesia, (but) this is a great club. I want to pay for the support of the fans by scoring a lot of goals.'

'Essien joining simplified the process for me to come over here. He's a big player in Europe. The Persib fans are great. I'm happy to be here.'

Teddy Tjahyono, part of the Persib Bandung management added: 'He came Monday night, on Tuesday, we (underwent) negotiations and he passed the medical test on Wednesday. He was ready to join Persib.'

Cole, who won seven senior caps for England, is best known for two successful spells at West Ham where he scored 59 goals and helped them back into the Premier League in 2012.

London-born Cole started his career at Chelsea, where he progressed through the academy but struggled to hold down a first-team place under a number of managers.

His time there included spells on loan at Wolverhampton Wanderers, Charlton Athletic and Aston Villa, before his career really took off at Upton Park.

Cole's stay at Chelsea briefly overlapped that of Ghana midfielder Essien, who signed from Lyon in 2005.

The striker is best known for his two spells at West Ham, where he spent nearly a decade

Cole scored in the Championship play-off final as West Ham returned to the big time in 2012

In all, the England striker scored 59 goals for the Hammers during his time with them

Cole won seven caps for the England national team, including this one against Ukraine in 2009

After concluding his nine years at West Ham, Cole joined Scottish Premiership champions Celtic but struggled for game time.

He joined Sacramento, who play in the United Soccer League, in August last year but made just a handful of appearances before their season ended.

Cole has spent the winter working hard to maintain his fitness levels by training alongside Slaven Bilic's West Ham squad and also at a gym in Feltham, south-west London.

Essien, 34, joined Persib Bandung earlier this month having been released by the Greek side Panathinaikos at the beginning of the season.

Cole started his career at Chelsea, where he rose through the youth ranks to the first team