The West Ham United forwards face uncertain futures in east London.
West Ham boss Manuel Pellegrini addressed the media today, ahead of his side’s clash with Arsenal on Saturday, and insisted that he wants to keep both Andy Carroll and Lucas Perez this month, as quoted by Football.London.
Carroll, 30, has been linked with a move for Celtic, according to the Sunday Post, whilst Perez, also 30, is attracting interest from Spanish side Real Betis, if the Daily Mail are to be believed.
The Englishman has been with West Ham since 2012, whilst the Spaniard only arrived in the summer, but neither are considered to be guaranteed starters for Pellegrini’s side.
The Chilean spoke to reporters, and insisted that both strikers remain part of his plans, however, firstly outlining Carroll’s importance to the Hammers, as quoted by Football.London:
“Andy and the way he can play he is improving his performance. As a striker, when you score a goal you have a good game, Andy scored a goal and saved one more off the line and had more chances to score too so I am happy in the way he is working and he will be the same player we know he can be.”
Pellegrini then went on to insist that Perez remains very much a West Ham player:
“Lucas is part of our squad and for the moment he will continue with us.”
The transfer window does not close until January 31st, so there is obviously still a lot that can happen between now and then, but as things stand, it seems as though both players will both be playing for West Ham for the remainder of the campaign.
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