Monday, April 15, 2013

Andy Carroll Open To West Ham Offer

Andy Carroll is open to joining West Ham permanently but is unsure as to where his future lies. The football world was taken aback two years ago when Liverpool paid a club record £35m to sign the front man. Carroll arrived as the replacement for Fernando Torres but the move never quite worked out, leading to a season-long loan at West Ham in the summer.

West Ham has the option to make the deal permanent for an undisclosed fee, although reports suggest they will reduce their offer. Carroll has also been linked with a return to Newcastle, and the striker is uncertain what the future holds beyond the end of the season.

"I don't know what is happening so we will just have to wait and see," he said. "It has been great here and every minute has been fantastic. The lads have been great, the gaffer has been great and the fans are unbelievable."

Asked whether he would stay if West Ham put the right money on the table, he said: "It is obviously a great club and I do not see why not."

Carroll scored his sixth West Ham goal to earn a hard-fought point, his drive deflecting in off Steven Davis, seven minutes after Gastón Ramírez had given Saints the lead.

"It was a bit windy," he said. "The ball was all over the place but we came here and got a result. In the first half I was getting blocked off and there were a few players around me. I was talking to the referee a bit but it was a difficult day to me. With my goal, I just had to hit the target. Obviously it got a little bit of a deflection and went in, which sometimes happens.

"I have had a few injuries over the years and I am just getting over them now so it is good to get on a run of games and goals. I had a few chances and I think we could have won the game in the end. We are disappointed not to but happy we got the point."

The draw leaves West Ham and Southampton in safe, midtable positions in the Premier League, with seven points separating them from the drop zone. Both promoted clubs look set to ply their football in the top flight again next season, although the Southampton defender Jos Hooiveld said: "We are not going to relax. We just came up and we want to get the most amount of points possible. If we get 53 points, then we can relax. Things are looking good. There are still five games left and we want to end this season in style.

"It is nice to play those games and against West Ham it was exactly what we expected - a lot of fights, a lot of scraps.

"It was high tempo and it was a typical West Ham game. I kind of like the physical battle.

"I think we did very well, played our game, although the pitch and the weather did not really help.

"We played quite well at some points and I think we got the respect because in the end they were happy with the point."

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