Liverpool will sit down with striker Andy Carroll this week and declare their refusal to be rushed into a panic deal on the last day of the transfer window. This means the striker must realistically decide his future this week or resign himself to at least four months on the fringes at Anfield, according to the Daily Mirror.
Rumours persist that the England international is keen for a return to his hometown club, Newcastle United, and that the Magpies would look to capitalise on Liverpool’s desperation to offload a player not wanted by boss Brendan Rodgers by offering a sum considerably lower than the Reds’ £20m valuation.
Ideally, Rodgers wants to bring in another forward before the transfer windows slams shut, and this number would rise to two if Carroll departs. The Liverpool boss would rather keep the 23-year-old as back-up rather than see the club lose more than £20m on him, and would only consider cashing in if he can raise a decent amount of cash to fund a deal for a replacement. This leaves the ball well and truly in Carroll’s court, and the big striker may need to look beyond the North East if he wants regular first time football over the coming months.
West Ham proposed a season-long loan deal, where they would pay Carroll’s full wage of £90,000 a week and also pay £18m for a transfer at the end of the season if they avoided relegation. However, this offer was snubbed, along with an offer from Newcastle to pay some of Carroll’s wages and pay the Reds £11m. It is thought that Tottenham will also look at Carroll once Luka Modric completes his move to Real Madrid, providing Spurs with some spending money.
Rodgers is also looking to tie up deals for several more of his fringe players, with Charlie Adam still a target for Stoke and Everton, and Joe Cole attracting interest from several clubs, though the midfielder will now be out for a month with a recurring hamstring problem that could scupper any move. It is clear Rodgers intends to hold his nerve in transfer negotiations.
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