Liverpool ready to offload England centre-forward to Hammers

West Ham have agreed a fee with Liverpool for Andy Carroll but the England striker has yet to decide if he wants to join the Hammers permanently.

The London side will match Liverpool's asking price of around £15m, but the 24-year-old is unsure about the move ahead of a World Cup year.

It is understood interest from former club Newcastle United has cooled.

West Ham are expected to bid for Vitesse Arnhem's Wilfried Bony if Carroll rejects their approach.

The 24-year-old Ivory Coast international finished as 31-goal top scorer in the Dutch league this season, but West Ham manager Sam Allardyce has made no secret about Carroll being his main summer target,

Meanwhile, Carroll has withdrawn from the England squad for the upcoming friendlies against the Republic of Ireland and Brazil because of a heel injury.

Carroll was signed by Kenny Dalglish and moved to Liverpool on transfer deadline day in January 2011, for what remains a record fee for a British player of £35m.

He had impressed by scoring 31 times for his boyhood club Newcastle United in 81 appearances, but his time at Anfield was short lived.

Coupled with the arrival of Brendan Rodgers and a new style of play, Carroll's return of just six goals in 44 outings for Liverpool saw him loaned to West Ham in late August 2012.

Despite a knee injury ruling him out for December, Carroll scored seven times for Allardyce's side during the season, form which encouraged the West Ham boss to pursue a permanent deal.

"If we can start with Andy Carroll, that would be a great achievement for us as he can only get better and better," he said after West Ham's weekend win over Reading.

"Then we build around that in terms of how we want to improve next year, with better quality.

"Andy is a player who is wanting to enjoy his football. He lives for his football and wants to play every game. He wants to use his strengths and score as many as he can - but he also works very hard for the team."

Whether the deal goes through appears to rest with Carroll, who has said he has "enjoyed every minute" of his loan spell in London.

"I have had a great season here at West Ham, really enjoyed being part of a great set of lads in the team, with the staff around us and the fans," Carroll told the club's official website.

"Everyone has been so welcoming to me and I have been over the moon to be here. This is a great club."

Source: BBC UK

This story has been reproduced from the media. It does not necessarily represent the position of Liverpool Football Club or Red's Fury™ blog.

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Full-Time Highlights: West Ham United 2-3 Liverpool

A James Collins own goal fired Liverpool into the top half of the Barclays Premier League table and clinched a thrilling 3-2 win for the Reds at Upton Park against West Ham.

Brendan Rodgers' men made it back-to-back wins in the league for the first time this season and leapfrogged above the Hammers - but they had to come from behind late in the game to do so.

Glen Johnson put them into the lead after just 10 minutes when he produced a goal-of-the-season contender from the edge of Jussi Jaaskelainen's penalty area.

Mark Noble slotted from the spot after Joe Allen was adjudged to have handled in the penalty area before Steven Gerrard turned a Matt Jarvis cross past his own 'keeper to give West Ham the lead.

However, Joe Cole struck against his old club to equalise and then Collins turned a Jordan Henderson cross  into his own net to send the travelling Reds into euphoria.

All the build-up to the clash revolved around the absence of Luis Suarez, who was ruled out after picking up his fifth yellow card against Southampton, but his replacement Shelvey proved to be the hero of the hour.

Upton Park was on its feet on six minutes when Jarvis's cross was scrambled clear by Daniel Agger and Mohamed Diame fired the loose ball against Carlton Cole, who deflected it a yard wide of Pepe Reina's post.

The Hammers posed a real threat down the left flank with Jarvis, who was constantly keen to spin a deadly cross in behind Martin Skrtel and Agger and this would prove to be a real thorn in the Reds' side throughout the match.

Full report: Liverpool FC Official

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Rumour Mill: Liverpool eye Arsenal winger

The summer Anfield clearance has begun! With the latest signing of Fabio Borini and the departure of Maxi Rodriguez, Liverpool manager Brendan Rodgers has started to reshuffles his playing squad.

Andy Carroll has been subject to many speculation after Rodgers has admitted that the England international striker could leave on a season-long loan with a permanent deal at the end of 12-months. Although Liverpool has rejected Newcastle bid earlier for Carroll. AC Milan and West Ham United are still interested on signing the big striker on a season-long loan deal.

News on Zlatan Ibrahimovic almost completing his move to Paris St. Germain from AC Milan has boosted the chance of Carroll moving in the opposition direction.

Meanwhile, Liverpool are ready to rival Chelsea in the hunt for Arsenal winger Theo Walcott.

Walcott has just a year to run on his contract with the Gunners and could follow Robin van Persie's lead by seeking a move away from the Emirates Stadium if the club does not boost his wages to £100,000 per week.

Rodgers will be pondering a £15million move and could use money from any sale of Andy Carroll to pay for the deal.

As a pacy winger with an eye for goal, Walcott would fit seamlessly into Rodgers' preferred playing style.

Target-man Carroll, however, may find opportunities under Rodgers more limited.

Gunners boss Arsene Wenger is desperate to keep Walcott, especially with Robin van Persie refusing to sign a new deal but some members of Emirates board would be prepared to cash in now.

Will Theo Walcott move to Anfield?

This story has been reproduced from the media. It does not necessarily represent the position of Liverpool Football Club or Red's Fury™ blog.

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Liverpool: Carroll out, Borini in?

Andy Carroll’s days at Anfield are numbered. According to reports, Italian giant AC Milan are interested to take Liverpool’s England international striker to San Siro on a loan deal. However, Carroll remained unfazed by the interest as he relaxed by the pool enjoying his extended holidays following England’s quarter-final in Euro 2012.

West Ham are set to launch an ambitious bid for England striker Andy Carroll.

Sam Allardyce wants to make a marquee signing ahead of his club’s return to the Barclays Premier League and West Ham’s owners are prepared to break their budget for the Liverpool No 9.

West Ham are proposing an initial loan with a view to buying Carroll for around £15million. That would represent a huge loss for Liverpool, who signed the forward for £35m in January 2011.

But Carroll is facing an uncertain future at Anfield after Liverpool manager Brendan Rodgers refused to  dismiss the idea he could leave on loan.

Significantly, Rodgers would not give any assurances about Carroll’s future when presented with the opportunity on Monday and a switch to Upton Park could prove enticing.

Allardyce’s style of play would suit Carroll, while he would also link up with close friend and former Newcastle captain Kevin Nolan.

Rodgers is expected to make Fabio Borini his first signing in a £10m deal after Roma confirmed Liverpool’s interest. The new Kop boss is just as keen on tying down Luis Suarez, whose deal runs to June 2016.

Roma striker Borini is 'seriously considering' the opportunity to join Liverpool this summer, according to his agent.

The Serie A club's sporting director Walter Sabatini confirmed earlier on Tuesday that the Anfield outfit had expressed an interest in signing the 21-year-old.

Reds boss Brendan Rodgers knows Borini well, having worked with him during their time together at Chelsea and again during a loan spell with Swansea.

Borini netted nine goals in 24 appearances in the league for Roma last season and earned a place in Italy's Euro 2012 squad, although he did not feature during their run to the final.

This story has been reproduced from the media. It does not necessarily represent the position of Liverpool Football Club or Red's Fury™ blog.

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West Ham 3-1 Liverpool: Back to the drawing board

Liverpool's unbeaten run came to an abrupt end with a 3-1 defeat at West Ham United on Sunday afternoon.

Goals from Scott Parker and Demba Ba had the Hammers looking comfortable before a late strike from Glen Johnson gave the Reds hope.

It wasn't to be, however, with substitute Carlton Cole finishing off the scoring with just minutes remaining.

Injuries to Raul Meireles and Martin Kelly completed a miserable afternoon in east London.

Liverpool's chances of making it nine games without defeat had been buoyed by the return of club captain Steven Gerrard from a groin injury.

Key to that sequence of results had been the Reds' ability to keep opposition attackers at bay, with Pepe Reina tallying five shut-outs in six games. Kenny Dalglish opted to field three centre-backs in a bid to maintain that miserliness, including 19-year-old Danny Wilson, who found his name on a Barclays Premier League team-sheet for the first time.

Another notable inclusion was the man who now wears No.7 at Anfield, Luis Suarez. The Uruguayan set about making an instant impact on two minutes with an audacious lob into the box which was just too heavy for the onrushing Gerrard. [Read more…]

Sources: Video courtesy of FootyTube.com and match report from LiverpoolFC.tv

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Premier League: Liverpool 3-0 West Ham United

   

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