Andy Carroll - the perfect fit?

West Ham’s longest running transfer saga of the summer finally reached a conclusion last night with Andy Carroll signing on a season's loan. It has been reported that the Hammers will pay £1million up front to Liverpool, the player's wages in full and there will be an option to buy at the end of the season.

This news will come as a surprise to many, as it had appeared in recent weeks that any deal was dead in the water. Having previously had a bid accepted by Liverpool, the player rebuffed West Ham’s initial offer, preferring to either fight for his place at Liverpool or hold out for a move back to Newcastle, were they to meet Liverpool’s demands.

Newcastle did express firm interest but seemingly were only ever interested in a loan deal which Liverpool were never going to entertain, having signed the player from the same club for £35million just 18 months ago and the two clubs having since become rivals for the European places, such has been the progress made by Newcastle under Pardew.

Carroll’s position at Liverpool became increasingly unsettled too. Brendan Rodgers made it very clear from early on in his tenure that he didn’t see Andy as part of his plans and those statements grew ever more defiant in recent days, all but pushing Carroll out of the door.

Once any move to Newcastle looked impossible Carroll had no option but to consider an alternative and West Ham’s interest in him remained strong, the club’s position no doubt strengthened with Carroll’s agent, Mark Curtis, also representing both Kevin Nolan and Sam Allardyce.

I also believe the signing of Matt Jarvis, a player with one of the best deliveries from wide positions in the league, may have had it’s own part to play and was perhaps discussed when the first set of talks were held between the two parties.

This is undoubtedly a great coup for West Ham and I believe the move will suit everyone involved.

Andy is moving to a club where he will get regular games, playing under a manager who encourages a brand of football that plays to his strengths better than anyone. Carlton Cole’s endeavour, often deployed as a lone-man up front, has been commendable but I’ve always believed that Big Sam has wanted more from his main striker, not just in terms of goals but also in holding up the ball and bringing others into play and should get that from Andy Carroll.

Of target men available for West Ham to sign this summer, I honestly see no better and some of the more critical West Ham fans need to be more realistic and realize that the likes of Llorente are just pipe-dreams for us at the present time.

Kevin Nolan was a close friend and mentor of Andy’s at Newcastle and he should help the big man settle in quickly and should also benefit from any knockdowns around the edge of the box with Carroll’s undoubted aerial ability.

With regards to Liverpool, as already mentioned Carroll was never going to be part of Rodger’s plans and they didn’t want a £35million player sitting on the bench so his exit will also allow one, possibly two forwards, to come in as a replacement.

I look forward to seeing what Andy Carroll can do in the claret and blue.

Stuart Jones may also be found on his blog at www.westhamfans.co.uk.

Please note that the opinions expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily represent the views of, nor should be attributed to, KUMB.com.