West Ham are hot on the tail of Vitesse Arnhem striker Wilfried Bony. But will the deal leave Liverpool red-faced when Andy Carroll is sent packing?
Over the weekend it was reported that a deal between West Ham and Vitesse Arnhem had been all but sealed for the Ivorian striker Wilfried Bony.
While that deal now seems to be under threat, with interest from London rivals Chelsea and Fulham being reported since, The Hammers still remain the favourites to snap up the player; using their move to the Olympic Stadium in 2016 as bait for a star like Bony.
Dubbed the ‘next Didier Drogba’ his goalscoring form this season has been nothing short of sensational. Scoring 27 goals in 26 games, including a run of 11 goals in his last seven games, was always going to attract interest and at just 24-years-old there would appear to be plenty more to come from this bulky centre forward.
So with West Ham courting a new striker you can be sure it possibly spells the end of Carlton Cole’s time at the club. With his contract up in the summer it is hard to see him staying.
But what does it mean for a certain Andy Carroll.
Sam Allardyce bought the Geordie in on loan from Liverpool last summer as he was deemed surplus to requirements by Brendan Rodgers under his new tiki-taka regime.
But much of the England internationals season has been curtailed with injury issues and he has failed to make the impact many Hammers fans would have wished for.
Which brings in the interesting sub-plot regarding this pair of Liverpool rejects.
Back in 2007 an 18-year-old came to Merseyside from his homeland club Issia Wazi and embarked on a trial at Melwood. However he did not do enough to impress the management and he was told thanks, but no thanks. That player was Wilfried Bony.
He then went on to join Czech outfit Sparta Prague where he eventually began to show his goal-scoring ability which has continued at Vitesse.
Andy Carroll on the other hand is an entirely different breed of Liverpool flop. While Bony was simply a fresh-faced teenager hoping for a dream opportunity on Merseyside Carroll arrived for a hefty £35 million; a price tag now deemed a ridiculous sum of money for the burly forward.
So if West Ham do manage to tie down their proposed deal for Wilfried Bony they will almost certainly cast Carroll back off to Anfield; leaving Liverpool red-faced that a man they let go for free was replacing the man they spent a ludicrous amount of money on.
image: © kong niffe
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