What’s the truth behind the Carroll transfer?
Posted on January 31st, 2011 | 289 Comments |
So what do we actually know about the Andy Carroll situation?
We know that Alan Pardew repeatedly said that Carroll was not for sale. We also know that Mike Ashley turned down at least two offers from Liverpool for the striker and possibly offers from Spurs too.
We know that, finally, Andy Carroll handed in a transfer request, reported thusly on the Newcastle United site:
A transfer request from striker Andy Carroll has been accepted by Newcastle United.
The 22-year-old England international has this afternoon handed in a transfer request, which has reluctantly been accepted by the club, and Carroll is currently in talks with Liverpool over a move to Anfield.
And we have the following official announcement from Liverpool:
Liverpool FC confirmed this afternoon that Newcastle United had accepted a Club record offer for the transfer of Andy Carroll.
The Club have been given permission by Newcastle to discuss personal terms with the player, who will now travel to Liverpool for a medical.
We can also fairly safely assume that the transfer fee is in excess of £30m, possibly even £35m or more.
One thing we don’t yet know is why Andy Carroll put in a transfer request. The most likely reason would seem to be because he wanted to move, either because he prefers the idea of playing his football for Liverpool or he was enticed by the money on offer. However, some people have suggested that his hand might have been somehow forced by Mike Ashley.
I suppose that’s possible, although I have my doubts. I know that if I were in a similar situation and I didn’t want to leave the club, then nothing short of holding a gun to my head would persuade me to hand in a transfer request, and for all Ashley’s faults I don’t think he did that.
The main point, though, is that it’s still not completely clear and hopefully more details will emerge over the coming days.
The most important thing – moving forward – is finding someone to replace Carroll, preferably before 11PM tonight!
At the end of the day he put in a transfer request.
The W4NKER