OPINION
It’s been a long, hard road for Andy Carroll at West Ham United, but the striker can take solace in the knowledge that it will be over soon.
The 29-year-old, on a reported £90,000-per-week [Source: Spotrac], has mere months left before his Hammers contract expires in the summer of 2019.
That date is one that plenty of West Ham fans will be looking forward to, as the former Liverpool man has been a constantly-sidelined flop since joining in 2013.
There have been moments of brilliance of course, a certain overhead kick springs to mind, but the England international has simply been unable to stay fit throughout his time at the London Stadium.
In five and a half seasons in East London Carroll has made 128 appearances for the club, which averages out at around 23 appearances a campaign.
That doesn’t sound too bad on the face of it but when you consider that 24 of them came in his first six months at the club, and 32 in a largely-unblemished 2015/16 season it says much about his inability to stay off the West Ham treatment table the rest of the time.
The striker has netted just 33 goals throughout his time at the club, one every 3.9 games. That’s simply not good enough for a big money signing.
Having said all that, the Hammers shouldn’t settle for moving Carroll on next summer. The team needs to make a concerted effort to sell him in January.
The winter transfer window provides the team with their final chance to make some of their money back from the striker. They must try and get £5-10million from the Englishman while they can.
Carroll’s former club Newcastle could perhaps be persuaded to bring the forward back to St James’ Park for a reduced fee. The team are struggling desperately this term, and might see Carroll as a last roll of the dice for their survival hopes.
Given Carroll’s injury record it will be a tough sell getting anyone to hand money over for him, but that shouldn’t stop the Hammers from trying before time runs out to do so.
