'Every club needs a goalscorer' - Cole on Vale impact

Devante Cole scored a hat-trick in a 7-0 win against Port Vale when he was at Barnsley in August 2023

"I think every club needs a goalscorer and I'm here to try to do that."

Port Vale striker Devante Cole is delivering on his word.

Two games into his Valiants career, the former West Bromwich Albion forward has already bagged two goals and an assist - and, perhaps most crucially, helped deliver Vale's first win in League One this season.

Given his family pedigree - the 30-year-old is the son of former Newcastle, Manchester United and England striker Andrew Cole - his sharp instincts in front of goal are not a surprise.

It was certainly the area high on manager Darren Moore's to-do list when he spoke to Cole on transfer deadline day about a move to Vale Park after watching his side muster only two goals in their first six league games.

Moore had signed Cole while in charge at Doncaster in 2020 and the striker said that helped his decision to work with him again when he got a call on deadline day after being released by the Baggies.

"On the day it was all very last minute but speaking to the manager, who I've worked with before, swayed it. It was a mad day," Cole told BBC Radio Stoke.

"I said what my aim is from now until the end of the season and he said 'I completely agree' so we had that basic understanding.

"As a manager and a person, he is someone I liked before and want to work for again."

Cole's move to Vale ended a frustrating season with Albion last term when all of his 14 Championship appearances came from the bench.

He returns to the third tier after a prolific stint with Barnsley there previously, when he scored 15 goals as they reached the League One play-off final in 2022-23 and 18 the following campaign as the Tykes again reached the play-offs.

"I believe I can score goals at whatever level I play at," Cole said. "Obviously being in League One before helps but I always feel I can score goals.

"It's a good start and that's what I wanted but physically I'm not feeling my best yet, so a lot to work on there.

"For me it was just a case of getting back to playing football and getting that love back which I feel I'm slowly getting back."

Cole said he is working on building his relationship with fellow striker Ruari Paton, with both of them scoring in the maiden win over Exeter.

"He's a lively character but in football you try to get on with whoever you're playing with and try to build a relationship," he said.

"It's only been one week and there's a long way to go before we can call it a real partnership but there are signs there already. The fact that we both scored is obviously going to help us.

"Obviously there's a lot better feel around the place now we're not chasing our first win.

"But it's not the case of 'we're winning now so we're going to try something different'. It's about staying consistent."

Devante Cole had two spells with Barnsley and reached the League One play-off final against Darren Moore's (right) Sheffield Wednesday in May 2023