Andy Carroll was linked with leaving West Ham United towards the end of the Chinese Super League window.
West Ham United manager Slaven Bilic
Slaven Bilic has looked to clear things up regarding the West Ham board’s role in the speculation linking Andy Carroll with a move to the Chinese Super League, BBC Sport reports.
According to a report in The Sun, the Hammers hierarchy were trying to sell the 28-year-old to the CSL before their transfer window shut on Tuesday due to his prolonged struggles with his injuries.
However, the Daily Mail then suggested that the Irons had been the ones to turn down bids as three clubs kept a keen eye on his situation.
And while Bilic has confirmed that there was interest there, he has insisted that the board made no attempt to try and get Carroll off their books.
“He is one of our best players and we want to keep him,” he said, as reported by BBC Sport.
West Ham’s Andy Carroll
“Chinese clubs send their representatives over to investigate. They were watching other players, but they fell in love with Andy. The club didn’t try to sell him.”
While Bilic was probably never going to publicly admit that the board had been trying to sell the striker – even if they had tried – it would not have made much sense for the club to sell Carroll at this stage of the season.
Though the fees that Chinese clubs have paid would suggest that the former Newcastle man would have attracted a sizeable fee of his own, the Hammers would not have had a chance to sign a replacement, and based on how the Irons’ forwards have performed this term, that would have surely cost them dearly during the remaining months of the season.
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