West Ham United have completed the signing of Liverpool striker Andy Carroll on loan.
The 23-year-old England international has joined West Ham on loan for the season with view to a permanent transfer next summer.Carroll - who joined Liverpool just 18 months ago for a British record fee of £35million - put pen to paper on a season-long loan deal this evening after he flew into Stapleford Abbotts airfield earlier in the day, as exclusively revealed on the KUMB.com forum.
Speaking to whufc.com tonight, Carroll said: "It's great to be here at West Ham and all signed up - I just can't wait to get started now.
"I want to be playing games and obviously hoping to score some goals. I know the manager well and some of the lads, so it is nice for me to come to a place where I know people.
"I'm hoping to add a lot of goals and create a few chances. I know Sam from Newcastle and he was a massive reason for me coming. When I worked with him at Newcastle it was great, so it was a no-brainer really."
KUMB.com revealed this morning how Sam Allardyce remained keen on tieing up a deal for the former Newcastle forward despite several other sources claiming that the move was dead in the water.
Earlier this evening news broke that the two parties were close to agreeing a deal - and shortly before 8pm tonight the club confirmed that Carroll had indeed completed a move to West Ham.
United boss Sam Allardyce was clearly delighted to have landed a player he had long sought. "I think for all parties this is a great signing," he told whufc.com. "Andy is an all-round footballer, but because he is 6'3" and one of his strengths is his aerial power, everybody dismisses the ability he possesses on the floor.
"Hopefully he can score goals for us and we will be in a very good position at the end of the year in the Barclays Premier League."
The centre forward, who is Allardyce's tenth signing of the summer is represented by agent Mark Curtis, who now exerts a major influence on the dressing room at West Ham.
Curtis also boasts Kevin Nolan, Matt Jarvis, James Tomkins and Jack Collison amongst his clientele - plus manager Sam Allardyce.
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