Sam Allardyce expects Andy Carroll to make a decision on his future within the next few days.
A fee of around £15million has been agreed between Hammers and Liverpool for the England striker but there has been a significant period of suspense as the clubs have waited for Carroll’s decision on whether he wants a permanent move to East London.
But Allardyce has admitted that the wait is almost over and a decision will be made by the end of next week at the very latest.
Speaking to The Mirror from his Spanish Villa, he said: “We are both out of the country but most of the negotiations are done and the financial agreement between us and Liverpool is in place.
“It’s about communicating with Andy and his agent between London, here in Spain where I am and Florida where Andy is.
“He’s back in the next few days so we should have a definitive answer by the end of next week.”
And Allardyce, who has made it no secret that he sees the 24-year-old as a vital piece to his West Ham jigsaw as he prepares a side worthy of a top-ten Premier League finish next season, explained that Carroll knows how much he is wanted by him and the Hammers faithful.
“I’ve no real need to speak to him over his decision. I’ve spoken to him enough times so he knows with I think and it’s up to him.”
The Hammers are prepared to smash their wage structure and transfer record in order to secure Carroll’s signature with a four-year contract worth £100,000 per-week reported to be on the table.
West Ham have been offered the chance to sign Chelsea rejects Florent Malouda and Salomon Kalou, according to The Telegraph.
Malouda, 33, spent the whole of last season training with Chelsea’s reserves after he refused to take a pay-cut or leave Stamford Bridge for several interested European clubs.
He was subsequently told he would have to see out the remaining year of his contract with the Blues’ reserves before leaving for free this summer, and Chelsea have approached West Ham with the chance to take him off their hands for nothing.
Kalou, 27, left Chelsea for Ligue 1 side Lyon last summer but it is thought he is interested in returning to the Premier League. Lyon have approached several clubs regarding the availability of the Ivorian, including the Hammers, where he is reported to be very interested in joining if an offer is made.
But both players, who were part of Chelsea’s Champions League winning side in 2012, would need to take significant pay-cuts should West Ham decide to sign them, especially if Andy Carroll puts pen-to-paper on the reported £100,000 per-week, four-year contract he has been offered by the Hammers next week.
Andy Carroll’s imminent move to West Ham is going to be worth a huge £44million, according to The Sun.
The Hammers and Liverpool have agreed a fee – thought to be around £16million – for the England striker and he is set to have talks with manager Sam Allardyce in the early stages of next.
It is believed that co-owner David Sullivan has agreed to offer Carroll a five-year, £100,000 per week contract, smashing the club’s current wage structure. The deal will also include £3million in add-ons, which will complete the £44m package for Carroll.
However, Carroll is still hopeful of securing a move to Newcastle United or a club playing in Europe next season. Despite this, it is thought he will agree to sign for the Hammers due to there being no current interest from other clubs.
Carroll scored seven goals in 26 Premier League appearances while on loan with West Ham last season.
Our reputation of developing some of the best players this country has ever seen has faded in recent years, paving the way for the modern game and it’s ruthless financial ruler. It could be said that money talks more than football these days, which we all know has had a detrimental affect on our nation’s footballing prospects.
But while we all take wild guesses at who our next England protégé is going to be as they rise up the West Ham Academy ranks, it seems the answer has been staring us straight in the face all along.
We’re not quite the England national side’s feeder club any more and, who knows, we may one day regain that wonderful privilege. But the sheer fact that it’s still our English players who are making a positive impact on the pitch that highlights just how important that is to our club and how it’s etched in to our vains.
Of course we have had our foreign ‘legends’ in recent years. Paolo Di Canio and Carlos Tevez are the obvious ones that spring to mind, of course. But for every Di Canio and Tevez we’ve had a Scott Parker and Mark Noble. A Carlton Cole and Robert Green. An Andy Carroll and Kevin Nolan. A Frank Lampard and Rio Ferdinand.
I recently discovered an original programme from the 1965 European Cup Winners’ Cup final at Wembley, which I can only assume was given to my Dad as a gift many years ago. Inside that very programme is a column written by Sun Sports Columnist Peter Lorenzo, who praised the Hammers’ core of English talent and the success it was bringing them.
An excerpt reads:
“Such is the romance of Soccer. [Brian] Dear’s arrival also meant that West Ham, the team that came to Wembley last year with eight home-grown players, can now now add a ninth to their impressive list.”
Although we can no longer boast of such a home-grown presence in the first-team, we should remain proud that the likes of Mark Noble, James Tomkins, Joe Cole and even Jack Collison, despite being Welsh, are still playing in claret & blue and making a positive impact on our achievements. After all, Mark Noble is just one first-team appearance away from reaching 250 in all competitions, which is quite remarkable for a 26-year-old.
The club’s ever lasting philosophy of nurturing home-grown talent and buying English players is one that I feel will be an important part of our step to the next level. We are only a few years away from moving in to a world-class footballing arena in the Olympic Stadium and that could catapult us in to the upper-echelons of the Premier League, competing for European competitions and, fingers crossed, the league title.
Back in 1965 it was our home-grown English core that had even the neutrals purring over our style of football and our potential. Lorenzo also writes in that programme:
“I wonder whether this means the Hammers will take over from Manchester United as Football League champions next season. The resolve they have shown for individual matches might now be extended and spread over the whole season. When that happens – and it might be sooner than a lot of people think – the Manchester Uniteds, Leeds’, Chelseas and Spurs’ of this football world had better watch out.”
We were the talk of the town back then. The envy of other clubs. The pièce de résistance of English football. Just without the domestic dominance that other clubs achieved.
Last seasons’s achievements by our English contingent has highlighted one thing – there is still an element of the ‘West Ham Way’ in Sam Allardyce’s West Ham team. The style of football may not be the same but, the nucleus of what the club has always believed in still lives strong in the heart of the club.
Despite not being home-grown, nor of the same class as their 1965 counterparts, Kevin Nolan and Andy Carroll play successful roles in West Ham’s English contingent today.
And now as we enter a new and exciting era in the club’s history, I feel it is this philosophy that will take us back to the future some what. David Gold, David Sullivan and Sam Allardyce seem reluctant to sell the club’s soul to the continental talent that is on offer and believe that English talent, whether it be home-grown or bought from some where else, is still an important factor in our desperate search for stability and success.
Next season we can hopefully look foreword to seeing more of Andy Carroll who, on his day, can be a deadly striker for both club and country. If the likes of Robert Hall, Dan Potts, Ravel Morrison and Jordan Spence are also given the opportunity to show the Premier League what they’re made of then it will almost be like going back to the good old days in 1965.
The following year we went on to win the World Cup. It’s a far cry but, history could be on the verge of repeating itself in some way. We will not win the World Cup next year (we may not even qualify!), but there is a possibility that we’ll be represented just as we were in 1966. I’m not suggesting James Tomkins will lift the World Cup as England captain next summer, nor do I believe that Andy Carroll will score a hat-trick against Germany in the final. But, if you look deeper in to it, there are several similarities to be made between now and then.
We’re going back to the future. And it’s very exciting.
West Ham today announced the signing of England and Arsenal Under-16 striker Jordan Brown on a scholarship starting on July 1.
The 16-year-old spent eight years with Arsenal throughout his schoolboy career and last year appeared for their Under-18 side in the Barclays U18 Premier League.
The youngster as also represented England at U16 level, scoring three goals in seven games.
Brown told whufc.com: “I’m a No.9 and my objective in a game is to score goals.
“I want to help the team out and to lead from the front. I’m quick and strong and I think I can run with the ball as well. I’m an attacker.”
And Brown has also admitted that it wasn’t a hard decision to make when it came to deciding whether to stay at Arsenal or begin a new venture in East London.
“I had been at Arsenal for eight years and they wanted to keep me, but I sat down with my parents and my agents and we thought it was a better decision to come to West Ham,” he explained.
“The opportunities are here and I thought, at Arsenal, maybe I could have faded away because I’ve seen it happen before.”
