West Ham United are unlikely to sell striker Andy Carroll in this year’s January transfer window, according to Football London.
The outlet claims that, while the Hammers are willing to listen to offers for the former Liverpool man, he is expected to remain at the London Stadium this month.
Carroll, who is on a reported £90,000-per-week in East London [Source: Spotrac], is currently in the final few months of his West Ham contract.
The Englishman has endured near-constant injury problems since joining the Hammers but is currently fit, starting the team’s 2-2 draw with Brighton & Hove Albion on Wednesday.
OPINION
This is an interesting stance from West Ham. They have obviously decided that they will spend the next few months assessing Carroll and determining whether to offer him a new deal or not, taking the risk that they will inevitably lose out on money if they decide against renewing his contract. If they sell him now then they will pick up a fee for the player – although likely not much – but they would be missing out on his services for the rest of the campaign. The opposite applies if the club do go ahead with their current plan. Overall it seems like the risk is worth the reward in regards to keeping Carroll around until the end of the season. Best case scenario is that he performs well and earns himself a fresh deal, while the worst is that he picks up another injury and merely continues in the same vein as his entire West Ham career to date. That sounds like a risk worth taking, doesn’t it?
