Liverpool’s former record signing did not want to switch clubs (Picture: Getty)
Liverpool may have broken their transfer record to bring Andy Carroll to Anfield – but the former England international was not so keen on the move at the time.
Making his debut for hometown club Newcastle aged just 17 in November 2006, Carroll soon caught the eye with his long, flowing ponytail and raw, physical talents.
Scoring his first goal for the club a few seasons later, the striker became a more prominent part of Newcastle’s squad in 2008-09 as The Magpies were relegated from the top flight.
But Carroll continued to grow in confidence, scoring 17 goals in 39 games to help his side win the Championship and return to the Premier League at the first time of asking.
Handed the club’s number nine shirt during the summer, Carroll’s profile began to spread further after a blistering start to the 2010-11 season which saw Carroll score 11 goals in his first 19 games back in the Premier League.
Such goalscoring prowess saw big clubs start to circle and after a manic January window that saw them lose Fernando Torres to rivals Chelsea, Liverpool hurried to sign Carroll for £35million on deadline day.
The Englishman arrived alongside Luis Suarez who the Reds signed from Ajax on the same day for just £22.7m.
Andy Carroll and Luis Suarez enjoyed differing fortunes after signing for Liverpool in January 2011 (Picture: Getty)
But while the Uruguayan went on to become one of the club’s best-ever strikers, Carroll endured a disappointing two years at the club.
Having scored just 11 goals in 58 games in all competitions, the striker eventually joined West Ham on loan in 2012 and stayed there the following season after both clubs agreed a permanent deal in the region of £15m.
Since then, Carroll has gone on to enjoy a nomadic career, with spells back at Newcastle as well as at West Brom, Reading and Amiens.
Currently plying his trade in the French fourth tier with Bordeaux, Carroll admitted that his move to Liverpool came as a shock to everyone – including himself.
Andy Carroll scored just 11 goals for Liverpool before leaving for West Ham (Picture: Getty)
‘I’d just bought my dream house in Newcastle. I was about to sign a new contract and then it gets pulled away from me and you’re gone,’ he recalled, speaking to the Daily Mail.
‘To be honest, I didn’t really know what was going on. I didn’t really want to go but you’re being told you have to go.
‘It came up on Sky Sports News saying £30million for Andy Carroll from Tottenham rejected. Then it says Liverpool £35million accepted. I went in to see the manager, he rang the owner and the owner says, “Yeah, you’re gone”.
‘There was loads of media outside the training ground so I jumped in the back of Kevin Nolan’s car, left my car in the training ground and we’re sitting there in his cinema room and all the news was about me.
Carroll now plays in the French fourth tier for Bordeaux (Picture: Getty)
‘I’m sitting there thinking, “What is going on?” I’m getting loads of calls from my parents, my friends saying, “What’s happening?” I didn’t know what was happening and then I get a phone call off my agent saying, “The helicopter’s there, we need to go”.
‘I had no clothes, no bag, no nothing. That was me. In less than an hour I was gone. I’d just bought a house. Spent a week doing it out. Didn’t even live in it!’
Having just established himself at his boyhood club, Carroll had no desire to leave St James’ Park and remembers hoping that his injury would lead to failed medical which would scupper the deal.
‘In fact, I wanted to stay, but from the moment Liverpool made this incredible offer, on the last day of the transfer window, I found myself, without really understanding why, in a helicopter,’ he told L’Equipe.
‘As I was injured [at the time], I remember thinking, “I hope I fail the medical exam”.’
But despite his early reservations and the unfortunate manner in which his Liverpool career panned out, Carroll insisted that he wouldn’t go back and rewrite history if given the chance.
‘Would I rather have stayed at Newcastle? All day long, it’s my hometown club,’ he told the Athletic.
‘But I don’t regret going to Liverpool, I don’t regret anything. It turned me into who I am, it made me stronger. I wouldn’t change anything.’
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