Andy Carroll is being targeted by two clubs in the Chinese Super League, according to the Express.
Carroll has only played 90 minutes of Premier League football this season following a number of setbacks, which have delayed his return from a knee injury.
And with the club clearly struggling for goals in the striker department, it is a well known fact Bilic will need to raise significant funds in order to bring in a more capable hitman when the transfer window reopens in the new year.
Having signed Andy Carroll for £15m from Liverpool back in 2013, it’s fair to say selling him for £20m would prove to be extremely good business.
The report claims both Beijing Guoan and Guangzhou R&F are considering bids for the 27-year-old with one club supposedly prepared to hand the Hammers a £5m profit for his services.
Many football betting tips sites will no doubt have him down as one of the favourites to be sold in the next window, but there are reasons why we simply must not sell him in the summer.
Carroll is currently suffering from his 8th injury since he was on loan at the club for the 2012/2013 campaign. Since the day he joined on loan, Carroll has missed a whopping 737 days through injury, with him missing a total of 97 games in all competitions.
Many football betting tips sites will no doubt have him down as one of the favourites to be sold in the next window, but there are reasons why we simply must not sell him in the summer.
Despite all his injury issues, he is unplayable on his day. Granted his day doesn’t come around too often because of his ongoing struggles to stay fit, but he arguably remains one of the best strikers in the division when it comes to aerial threat.
I’ve lost count how many times he has won us games almost single handedly by being so clinical in the box, which is what we’re crying out for right now.
His record for the club currently stands at 23 goals in 91 appearances, which is a goal every 3.96 games.
Last season was his best in a Hammers shirt by a country mile, making 32 appearances (his most in a single season for the club) and scoring 9 goals (also his best return in a season).
So we know he’s capable of staying fit and being effective in front of goal, he just needs to perhaps take a lighter approach to training to ensure he’s always available to feature.
Everyone knows his commitment on the training pitch has been the cause of more than one of his long-term injuries in the past, so the club need to find a way of ensuring he isn’t overdoing it and overexposing his chances of getting injured.
There is a large percentage of West Ham fans who would rather we washed our hands of Carroll, take the money and run. But by doing that midway through a season in which we’re struggling for goals would be a huge mistake.
By all means consider selling him in the summer, but not now. Not when we’re in need of him the most.
