West Ham United’s Andy Carroll has a big part to play this season.
West Ham United manager Slaven Bilic says his side miss striker Andy Carroll and feels the impact he has on the team is similar to that of Everton’s Romelu Lukaku, the Mirror reports.
The former Newcastle United striker’s career has been blighted by injuries in recent years and right now he is still on the treatment table recovering from yet another knee injury.
When on the pitch, Carroll is a real nuisance for defenders and his terrific form towards the end of last season prompted many calls for then England boss Roy Hodgson to take him to the European Championships.
West Ham have evidently struggled for goals without Carroll this season, and Bilic admits his side miss him and the impact he has on the side.
“I love Andy Carroll. Every time he has started or come off of the bench, he has been brilliant for us. It’s virtually impossible to mark him in the box and even outside the box he is brilliant also,” Bilic told the Mirror.
“I’m hoping he’s going to be back in a few weeks. We miss him.You see the impact that players like Romelu Lukaku or Diego Costa have on a game. They are changing the whole game – and Andy Carroll is like that for us.”
West Ham travel to Everton on Sunday and they will be up against a striker in Lukaku who is currently enjoying a terrific start to the campaign with six Premier League goals in seven starts.
Aside from his goal-scoring ability, Belgium international Lukaku is physically imposing and his sheer presence causes problems for defenders and brings his teammates into play.
Carroll plays a similar role at West Ham, and without him the likes of Dimitri Payet and Manuel Lanzini have struggled to find a pattern of play and importantly link up effectively in the final third.
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