Andy Carroll has paved the way for a dramatic return ‘home’ by admitting that he wants to rejoin Newcastle United.
Having harboured hopes he would be able to convince Brendan Rodgers of his suitability for the new Liverpool, Carroll has now been forced to accept that he must move to play regular football.
Newcastle had an approach to take the England forward on a season’s loan rebuffed by Liverpool on Sunday, but they will now be expected to come back with another offer after encouraging noises from Carroll’s entourage.
West Ham United, Fulham and Aston Villa have all stated their interest to varying degrees but it would appear the striker would only want to leave to go back to the Sports Direct Arena.
According to an unnamed friend, who was quoted in yesterday’s Newcastle Evening Chronicle, Carroll is annoyed that he has not been given an opportunity to impress Rodgers. ‘From a professional point of view, Andy is miffed that he wasn’t given the chance to show what he can do in front of new manager Brendan Rodgers,’ said the player’s close friend.
‘He was expecting to get at least pre-season to show what he could offer him. He ended last season on a high and wanted to continue that. Now Newcastle are interested and Andy wants to come home. He’s already told Liverpool that too. He’s surprised Liverpool don’t want him any more and doesn’t want to be where he is not wanted.’
As Liverpool paid £35million (about R447,7-million) for Carroll in January 2011, they will play hardball with any interested club and will not sell him on the cheap.
Liverpool would be looking to recoup £20m and will only do business if they receive a permanent offer or a loan deal with a commitment to buy. Rodgers is looking to make additions to his squad and is keen on Fulham’s Clint Dempsey and Joe Allen of Swansea, but he admitted last week that his restructuring would not be done with huge amounts of cash.
Were Liverpool to off-load Carroll, then, they would have more room for manoeuvre in the transfer market but no deal will be done until their valuation is met.
The England man was not on Liverpool’s flight to Boston yesterday as he is still on holiday and is expected to report back next week following his efforts at Euro 2012.
There is no suggestion that this saga will be resolved quickly and West Ham manager Sam Allardyce is refusing to give up hope of luring Carroll to Upton Park, despite the 23-year-old’s reticence.
‘We would dearly love to have Andy Carroll with us but it is a complex situation,’ said Allardyce.
‘He is in no hurry; he doesn’t have to make a quick decision if he doesn’t want to. If Andy is going to leave Liverpool, he can wait and see how many are interested.’ – Daily Mail