West Ham have Andy Carroll Option

West Ham can trigger a two-year option on extending Andy Carroll’s contract at a cost of £8million, according to the Times.

The newspaper claim the Hammers have a decision to make in the coming months on whether to allow the 6ft 4in striker leave on a free in June or commit to paying him £4million-a-year in wages until 2021.

The Times report Chelsea showed an interest in Carroll, 29, last January but no club have shown interest in the striker, despite him being available for sale in recent seasons.

OPINION

Get rid. The argument for keeping Carroll is just not persuasive enough. Sure, he is a dominant battering ram who scares centre-backs with his excellence in the air and bravery. But he is a one-trick pony and that trick is barely ever seen. Why fork out a further £8million in wages on a striker with such a lamentable injury record? Aged 29, his appearances are only going to become more infrequent as he approaches the final years of a career that has failed to live up to its potential. Sure, Carroll can look the real deal on his good days. Those force-of-nature headers and back-to-goal knock-ons, as well as the odd technically-excellent left footer, make it all the more frustrating that he spends half his life on the treatment table. But West Ham need a front man they can rely upon who suits the team’s playing style. Under Manuel Pellegrini, the Hammers are all about combinating play and passing patterns. The era of knock-it-long-to-the-big-man is over. Carroll has had his day. Goodbye.