West Ham United could spark a bidding war among desperate clubs like Newcastle United, Southampton and Burnley in January.
West Ham are a club on the up after turning a corner under Manuel Pellegrini of late.
They have done so without influential striker Andy Carroll during his latest extended injury lay-off.
It is a situation West Ham fans know all too well.
The big Geordie has played only 128 matches for the Hammers in six seasons and netted just 33 goals in that time.
With a wage of £90,000 per week – as widely reported by the likes of The Mirror, Carroll has cost the Hammers over £50 million so far based on his salary, initial loan fee from Liverpool and his eventual £18 million permanent fee.
The eye-watering amount means Carroll has cost the Hammers £1.5 million per goal since joining the East Londoners.
When fit and firing Carroll, whose contract expires at the end of the season, remains one of the most dangerous forwards in the Premier League.
The trouble is, he rarely stays fit long enough to prove it.
Carroll looks highly unlikely to be offered a new deal at West Ham given his injury record.
The club will likely be keen to recoup some of their outlay by selling the target man in January.
And they could spark a bidding war between desperate Premier League rivals like Newcastle United, Cardiff City, Southampton and Burnley.
West Ham would likely be able to generate between £8-10 million by selling the former Liverpool striker.
That is not a huge outlay in the modern market by any means, particularly for clubs trying everything and anything to stay in the lucrative top flight.
Should the Magpies try and bring their former hero back that would undoubtedly be Carroll’s first choice.
He would be no dramatic loss to West Ham given the fact they have largely had to make do without him in recent seasons.
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