OPINION
Manuel Pellegrini has been confirmed as the new manager of West Ham United, and the Chilean has a busy summer ahead to get his house in order for the start of the season.
While the 64-year-old will no doubt be weighing up the players he can potentially bring in at the London Stadium, he will also need to work out which stars are worthy of staying at the club.
According to The Sun, striker Andy Carroll is set to be given a lifeline by Pellegrini, with the target man to be handed a fresh start under the new boss.
The newspaper claim that Carroll will be given a chance to work his way into Pellegrini’s plans, and in turn earn an extension to his £100,000-a-week deal that has just one year left to run.
The 29-year-old had looked very much on the way out under former boss David Moyes, with the two involved in a heated bust-up following their 4-1 defeat to Manchester City in April.
That now looks set to change under Pellegrini, who will run the rule over the 6ft 4in colossus before coming to a decision.
However, if this report is true, then Pellegrini could be well on his way to making his first big blunder as Hammers boss.
Carroll’s time at the top has been over for a while now, and his mounting injury problems have shown no sign of abating at West Ham this season.
The club have bled money on the former Liverpool man since his £15million arrival, with his £100,000-a-week wages burning a hole in the board’s pockets.
West Ham need players they can rely upon next season, and Carroll is most certainly not one of those, no matter how much he impresses Pellegrini in pre-season.
The Hammers need a new, more dynamic approach to attacking, and Carroll does not have the legs to play any part in that.
Pellegrini must be ruthless and dump the big target man before he leaves the club disappointed yet again next season and impedes the signing of someone who can take the club forward.
