What happens next? As the Barclays Premier League season lumbers towards its conclusion, thoughts at Anfield are already beginning to turn to next season.
Questions, inevitably, are being asked about many topics: will Liverpool have European football to look forward to? Will Luis Suarez be around to lead the charge? Will they finally find consistency? And will the side have a No 9 once more?
That last quandary is becoming particularly relevant with each passing day. The closer we get to May 13, the closer Andy Carroll’s loan spell at West Ham is to coming to an end and many Liverpudlians will wonder if the future under Brendan Rodgers contains a place for Carroll.
What next? Carroll's is due to return to Liverpool in MayCarroll has hardly pulled up trees in the time since he has been away from Anfield. He has only scored three goals during his loan with West Ham and the way Suarez has played – and how Daniel Sturridge has performed since his arrival – means absence has not made the heart grow fonder.
But a time is fast approaching when he could be back at the club’s Melwood training retreat once more, the venue at which he was mobbed on that scarcely-believable day in January 2011 when he became the most expensive British footballer of all time.
It has been a curious year on Merseyside for many reasons and the fact Liverpool have not had a player wear one of the club’s most iconic jerseys since Carroll played the final six minutes of a 2-2 draw with Manchester City last August is one of many anomalies.
Yet will he resurface to reclaim his place in the squad? All the evidence we have seen from the Rodgers reign would suggest not. But, as things stand, starting over with Liverpool is one of three options for Carroll. Mersey Beat examines where he goes from here.
High hopes: Carroll starred for England at Euro 2012 CAPITAL GAINSStaying at West Ham is the obvious starting point. He might have been reluctant initially to go to Upton Park but, slowly but surely, he has found his feet and his aggressive performance at Chelsea before the international break was one of his best in claret-and-blue.
In some ways, West Ham might be the ideal club for him. Sam Allardyce – now that he has ended speculation about his own future – is a manager who will indulge him and set his team up to get the best out of Carroll.
Contrary to what you may think, Carroll is a player who needs a manager to put an arm around him; Allardyce has done – and will do – that, as has Kevin Nolan, his long-time friend from their days together at Newcastle.
Back to form: Carroll impressed for West Ham against Chelsea earlier this monthBeing at West Ham would also be good for Carroll in that he won’t be subjected to intense scrutiny; runs of games without goals won’t be forensically dissected as they might elsewhere. He could just get on with the job of being a footballer.
But will West Ham want to do business at £17million, the price Liverpool wanted last summer? There is nothing in the terms of the loan that stipulates they have an obligation to buy and their interest in Vitesse Arnhem’s Wilfried Bony indicates they are looking elsewhere.
COME BACK NO 9The decision to let Carroll leave Liverpool was not universally popular. Some supporters felt he was unfairly treated by Rodgers, that judgement was reached too quickly. After all, Carroll ended last season showing form that was good enough to take him to Euro 2012.
There is little doubt the £35m price tag with which he arrived has been a burden and if Liverpool do end up selling, they will only recoup a fraction of what they paid; former Director of Football Damien Comolli warned Fenway Sports Group this would be the case if things went wrong.
British record: Carroll cost Liverpool £35million back in January 2011But what happens if there are no takers? Rodgers will then find himself with no choice but to accommodate Carroll in his squad and, from both a physical and mental point of view, he is not the type of player who could do a job flitting in and out of the team.
Carroll needs frequent action to maintain his condition but would Rodgers give him it? Doubtful. Liverpool’s play is now fast and fluent and Carroll does not have the dexterity of other forwards. If he lacks speed and skill, he is not beneficial to Rodgers. It has nothing to do with his size.
BLACK AND WHITE TOWNBack on January 17, Carroll posted a picture of the Angel of The North on Twitter with the caption 'home sweet home!' – it is clear that his heart belongs to the north east and his ideal would be for Newcastle to take him back to St James’ Park.
Liverpool have an interest in Hatem Ben Arfa and an option would be for a deal which involves him and Carroll trading places being formulated. Newcastle, however, are unlikely to hurry into any negotiations and will take a view that his fee has depreciated in the last 12 months.
The return home, then, is not going to be straightforward but hasn’t that always been the way for Carroll? What happens next to the England international will be a intriguing tale of the summer.
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