Sam: “Carroll will be a better deal than Bony”

Sam Allardyce  still believes he got the better deal of the choice between Andy Carroll and Wilfried Bony.

Both were available in the summer of 2013 but the manager had his heart set on the former Newcastle and Liverpool hitman finally paying a record fee for the player.

He has suffered three major injuries which have restricted him to two goals in 19 appearanceshaving been forced to undergo ankle surgery after getting injured on the club’s pre-season tour to New Zealand.

Bony meanwhile joined Swansea for £12m has struck 22 times in 48 league games in the same period and is level with Manchester City’s Sergio Aguero for most Premier League goals this calendar year at 18.

The Mirror show this comparative analysis of the pair:

This season and last season – Premier League only

BONY	Category	CARROLL
48	Games Played	19
22	Goals	2
3414	Mins Played	1339
128	Total Shots	52
58	Shots on Target	18
6	Assists	4
40	Chances Created	18
155.18	Mins per Goal	669.50
17%	Conversion Rate	4%
45%	Shooting Accuracy	35%

But when asked if he would eventually nget the better of the deals Allardyce is reported as saying:  “I think so.

“Hopefully, in the end, it will be an Andy that is not picking up injuries and starts getting back to what we know he can do. His first season in the Premier League at Newcastle he scored 11 goals in 16 or 17 matches.

“That showed at that young age he was a massive goal scoring threat against anyone. He has done it before. Because of injuries he had his career hasn’t blossomed as it should have done.

“It was one [player] or the other, it couldn’t be both. We got the deal done with Andy and we couldn’t do both – we didn’t have enough money in the budget that year.”

Allardyce appears to have spent his £30million wisely over the summer on the likes of Valencia, Sakho and Cheikhou Kouyate but accepts there is always a risk bringing in players from abroad.

“For every one that succeeds, there are probably four or five who don’t,” he added.

“They will get forgotten about because they end up getting sold back abroad again and get lost to this country but from Bony’s point of view, he has been an outstanding success.”