This is what appears in the Mail on Sunday today concerning the future of Andy Carroll at Upton Park. Rob Shepherd is a West Ham fan and very well informed…
West Ham will put Andy Carroll up for sale in January. But just who do the Hammers offload the injury-stricken striker to? Newcastle would take him back, but only if he agreed to drop his wages – which are in the region of £85,000-a-week. They would only be prepared to pay a transfer fee around £8million for a player they sold to Liverpool for £35m. West Ham paid £17m for Carroll two summers ago. I am told co-owner David Sullivan wants Carroll off the books. Stoke may be interested. Or possibly QPR.
If this is true, I think it’s madness. Carroll, when fit, is a superb player and strikes fear into any team that he plays against. Because of his injury record we wouldn’t stand a hope of recouping the majority of the £17 million we paid, or indeed the millions he has cost in wages. He needs to be given at least a season to prove himself and then we need to take a judgement, but to get rid of him in January would be ridiculous. In my humble opinion!