Carroll headed to London on Thursday to undergo a medical before finalising
the agreement. There will be no guarantee of a permanent deal at the end of
his spell in London after Liverpool agreed to amend the terms of an earlier
offer. There will now only be an option to buy the player rather than a
commitment to do so.
The softening of Carroll’s stance was key to the opening of fresh series of
talks between the clubs, and having been left out of the squad for
Liverpool’s Europa League qualifier with Hearts on Thursday night, the 23
year-old opened up to the possibility of a move to Upton Park. The only complication was the terms of the deal. Since making their initial
bid which would have led to a permanent £17m deal if they avoided
relegation, West Ham have invested in their squad, including the £11 million
signing of Matt Jarvis from Wolves. However, the fact both sides reopened negotiations underlined how keen the
clubs were to do the deal and Carroll’s position had shifted.
He had always maintained his preference to remain at Anfield and fight for his
place, but manager Brendan Rodgers this week described him as his ‘third
choice’ centre forward and said Liverpool ‘couldn’t afford to keep a £35
million striker on the bench’.
Source: telegraph