Position: Striker
Date of Birth: Dec 31, 1984
Birthplace: Kinshasa, DR Congo
Height: 6' 3''
Former Clubs: Newcastle, on loan to Oldham

Calvin Zola - The Verdict - 3rd June 2004

So what's he really like, this Calvin Zola? Has Little made a superb signing seeing potential in a young player, or will Zola be the next Alan Navarro? One thing's for sure ... Zola didn't cost £250,000.

Official channels have been silent on whether Zola cost Tranmere a Bosman fee so we don't know what value (if any) Newcastle currently put on Zola, however the official Tranmere website steers clear of using the phrase "free transfer".

The official line from Newcastle on their forward has, in the past, been very positive and much was expected of this raw talent. Zola was seen has having huge potential when he was spotted playing for Newcastle Colleges by Bobby Robson in 2000 at the age of 15.

The rangey striker progressed through the youth and reserve team ranks very quickly and at the age of 17 Zola was offered a professional contract and a first team squad number for Newcastle. That was in August 2002 but without a chance of breaking into the Newcastle first team, Zola was loaned out to division 2 team Oldham Athletic at the start of of the 2003/04 season.

In November 2003 Zola's time at Oldham should have been up but he was deemed important enough to have his stay at Iain Dowie's injury-strick team extended until the end of the season.

Opinions of Zola's performance at Oldham are not especially complimentary. Zola averaged a goal every 4 games or, if you like, a goal every 3.5 starts which is just less than Hume, however the stats don't reveal the effort a player puts in. Reports from Oldham suggest that Zola had an impact early in the season and played well, but his performance dropped off as time went on. The general consensus is that he under-performed, despite demonstrating potential, and more often than not he seemed disinterested.

He's not especially pacey, not very strong on the ball, and not the greatest header either, but he does have an ability to finish. Combined with good service and Tranmere's legendary youth-coaching, Rovers might just bring out the ability that was apparent so early on and a real star could emerge.

Its worth bearing in mind that Dadi's scoring average was a goal every 7.6 games before coming to Tranmere. Here's how Zola fits in: