• New manager Brendan Rodgers ready to move striker on
• Fulham, West Ham and Milan may also be interested
Andy Carroll's unhappy 18 months at Liverpool may come to an end with a bid by his former club, Newcastle United, to re-sign the England striker on loan.
Liverpool's new manager, Brendan Rodgers, has hinted that he could be ready to listen to offers for the 23-year-old, who moved to Anfield in January 2011. Fulham and newly promoted West Ham are also believed to be interested in a loan deal for Carroll. Liverpool would prefer to sell Carroll, while the player would reluctantly consider only a loan switch from the club. Milan have also been linked to Carroll in recent days.
Newcastle sold Carroll to Liverpool on January deadline day last year for £35m, at the time the eighth most expensive deal in football history. However, since moving to Merseyside Carroll has struggled for form, scoring 11 goals in 56 appearances and only six in the league. However, some excellent performances towards the end of the season – including in the FA Cup final defeat by Chelsea – earned him a place in Roy Hodgson's England squad for Euro 2012.
Carroll did well with England, scoring a spectacular headed goal against Sweden, but, despite his performances in Poland and Ukraine, Rodgers is apparently unconvinced. Now Newcastle have made a move for the Gateshead-born striker, who upset many Newcastle supporters by deciding to move to Anfield.
West Ham are keen to unite Carroll with his former Newcastle team-mate Kevin Nolan and, while Newcastle have no immediate need to strengthen their hand in the striking department, they spent the early part of the summer wooing FC Twente's Luuk de Jong before finding the asking price too much.
If Demba Ba was to activate an early release-clause in his contract, then Newcastle would have a more pressing need for a forward, although the manager, Alan Pardew, said last week that there had been no contact with any club over any of his key men.
However, both Ba and Papiss Cissé could be required by Senegal for the African Nations Cup, while Leon Best and Peter Lovenkrands have left the club, so reinforcements will be required at some point.
Newcastle had little intention of selling Carroll until the final few hours of the transfer window when Liverpool made an offer they could not refuse. The then Liverpool manager, Kenny Dalglish, was convinced he could prosper on Merseyside but his price-tag was repeatedly thrown back in his face as Ba and Cissé, the men signed from the proceeds, prospered on the other side of the country.
Rodgers has now signalled that Carroll's role this season could be peripheral, sparking rumours about what might lie ahead for him.
Newcastle have gained a reputation in recent seasons for driving a hard bargain, so it remains to be seen if they will be prepared to offer a monetary deal that comes anywhere near meeting Liverpool's requirements.
Nonetheless the Merseyside club would almost certainly have to take a major hit in terms of a fee if they were to sell the player and a loan move seems more likely in the short term. Read More
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