West Ham have agreed a £15m fee with Liverpool for the services of Andy Carroll. After a successful loan spell at the club, it appears he is set to make a permanent move.
Carroll is a player that has received much criticism in the last couple of years. This is largely to do with the massive £35m that Liverpool paid for him in January 2011 though.
With this price tag, the relatively inexperienced Carroll was under pressure to deliver the goods immediately at Anfield. This was a difficult challenge at the best of times, but the attention didn’t help.
The England international has had too many injury problems too, so although the potential has definitely been there, Carroll has flattered to deceive over the last couple of years.
This was until he got himself fully fit and in a West Ham shirt a few weeks ago though. Make no mistake, in the final third of the season – Carroll was superb for the Hammers.
Leading the line with pride, causing opposing defenders no end of problems, he scored some crucial goals too as West Ham managed a top ten finish during their first season back in the Premier League.
So, you can see why Sam Allardyce are willing to splash the cash on him. You can definitely make a case for them building a team around Carroll and excelling as a result.
The player himself is yet to give the go ahead to the move – there are rumours he wants a second chance at Liverpool – but he should waste no time in moving to Upton Park.
Carroll will be first choice for West Ham, get plenty of good service and will be admired by the fans. None of these can be guaranteed at Liverpool.
After all, with the World Cup taking place next summer, Carroll needs to be playing games. He also needs to be enjoying his football and impressing England boss Roy Hodgson.He can do all of this in the Claret and Blue of West Ham.
Written by Thomas Rooney from FootballTips.com. Follow @footballtips for the latest news and views.
