Irons have two year option on Carroll …so what next?

What will we get? This Carroll…or the one below?

Prepare for a long and probably tedious discussion about Andy Carroll’s future given that the injury ravaged striker has a two year option attached to his deal which runs out at the end of the season.

The Geordie Boy is due back from injury after the international break although predictions on his first team involvement vary from Spurs on the 20th of October to Burnley on the November 3rd.

It could of course be neither given the track record!

Carroll knows however, he is facing a truly critical time in his career after his spell at the Hammers where he has made a total of 104 appearances since 2013/2014, been paid around £85k basic wage when signing permanently following a loan from Liverpool and picked up £500k for every year we have stayed up.

With his deal coming to an end, AC has a lot of performing to do should he want to see himself receive the opportunity of getting that two year option.

Alternatively, he will need to be at his best and fit anyway should he want another club to come in offering him the sort of deal he thinks he is worth.

To approach next season with only a handful of goals to his name or finding himself in a treatment room again is his probable current nightmare.

So short term that’s good news for the Hammers because he will have to be at his absolute best to stand any chance of getting a long term reward.

It would help too to have some pressure on Marko up front where he is  the one player who has none at all at the moment.

A recent CandH poll saw two thirds of those voting saying they were pleased to see Carroll was on the way back after the break. Whether they would feel the same were he to be offered another deal by the club is a very different question.

Carroll at his best is a frightening individual for defences but he is hardly the to feet centre forward you would expect to see as a Pellegrini regular although there is no issue with his ability to hold the ball up and lead the line.

Personally, however, I’d feel inclined to let him seek pastures new and put the money towards a decent striker with a good injury record.

Your views?

COYI