OPINION
West Ham forward Andy Carroll is surely destined for an exit from the club in the summer after it was reported that the Hammers are rebuffing approaches for youngster Xande Silva.
Football.London reported that even though Manuel Pellegrini has Javier Hernandez, Andy Carroll, Lucas Perez and Marko Arnautovic on the books, the London club have constantly rejected any approach they’ve had about borrowing Silva.
The football news outlet share that you get the feeling that Pellegrini wants to keep the explosive flyer around after handing him his first senior start against Birmingham City at the weekend.
Given that the Hammers boss hasn’t shied away from loaning other promising talents, see Josh Cullen and Marcus Browne for more details, as he believes regular football is important, this stance on Silva shows how likely he is use him and how highly he rates him.
This means that if Silva is set to stay then the likes of Hernandez, Carroll and Perez should be worrying about their playing time in particular.
The pacey 21-year-old can play as a winger but predominately has featured as a forward to great success for the Hammers’ U-23s this season, so you feel his future is in that position.
Silva has scored seven goals in six Premier League 2 outings this season and looked a lively presence against Birmingham, something Carroll hasn’t managed to do since becoming fit enough to feature this season.
While Perez may also end up fearing for his future to the emergence of the flyer, Carroll is no doubt more destined for an exit due to his contract situation.
The 30-year-old previously revealed that he needs to impress in games in order for the club to trigger an option that would stop him leaving when his £90,000-a-week contract (Source: Spotrac) expires in the summer.
“Yes, I want to stay and I want a new deal but I can’t really think about that every day. I’ve just got to play my football when I get the chance,” said Carroll, as transcribed by Sky Sports.
“I’ve got a two-year option at the end of the season so we’ll see what happens. I’ve got to play a few more games like this one and, like the manager says, I’ve got to impress him in the minutes he gives me.”
However given that he has struggled to excel in his eight outings so far this season and Silva not going out on loan will cause him to have less opportunities, Carroll is surely destined for an exit unless there’s a drastic change in his scenario.
