Andy Carroll must make sacrifices like Zlatan Ibrahimovic to stay at West Ham

Carroll is becoming 'unplayable' in both senses of the word
James Griffiths/West Ham United via Getty Images
James Olley1 March 2017

Andy Carroll's biggest battle has always been with himself.

The West Ham striker has had weaknesses in body and mind that have prevented him from fulfilling his potential; the latest instalment of that narrative came this week when his current employers were reportedly courting Chinese cash for his signature in the final throes of their transfer window.

There was insufficient will on all sides to force anything to happen before last night’s deadline passed.

It was rumoured Carroll’s availability was touted to test the water and although Tianjin Quanjian, Hebei China Fortune and Shandong Luneng tabled offers, West Ham rejected all-comers as nobody met the valuation.

Manager Slaven Bilic would prefer to wait until the summer before sanctioning a sale but his patience is said to be wearing thin and the mere fact such an option was even discussed is proof Carroll again finds himself in the last-chance saloon.

Carroll’s penchant for a night out has by his own admission compromised his career to date. “The drink doesn’t help,” he said in a January interview.

“In the past I was a big drinker. I have been tarnished with that and I don’t enjoy that. That is the old me.”

Last September, an injured Carroll was pictured in a fast food restaurant at 6.45am after a “team bonding” session turned into an all-nighter.

West Ham United Exclusive Training Photos

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However, those close to Carroll speak of a man slowly maturing. He is 28 and is settled in a relationship with fiancee Billi Mucklow, with whom he has a young son, Arlo.

He spends increasing amounts of time tending to animals on a farm at his house and is, belatedly, acknowledging the need to increase his gym work to strengthen a body ravaged by injury.

In his time at West Ham alone — dating back to 2012 when a season-long loan preceded his permanent transfer from Liverpool — he has suffered nine different injuries, including four separate knee problems.

According to transfermarkt.co.uk, those injuries have ruled him out for a total of 775 days in terms of time between matches if we add on his current absence with a groin problem. He has been at West Ham for 1,645 days.

James Griffiths/West Ham United via Getty Images

Yet hope springs eternal. Bilic is confident Carroll will be fit enough to return for Monday’s visit of Chelsea to resume what is his latest rebirth after four goals in his past four games.

Anyone still willing to pigeon-hole Carroll as a one-dimensional battering ram was silenced by the magnificent execution of his acrobatic strike against Crystal Palace in mid-January.

Carroll’s aerial threat inevitably dominates any assessment of his talent. It is the principal reason why a succession of managers have described him as “unplayable” but too often that has had a dual meaning; he is either one of the most dangerous forwards around or not fit for purpose.

Bad timing is a contributory factor but it is staggering that a player of Carroll’s quality has only nine England caps, the last of which, remarkably, came in October 2012.

Carroll insisted in an interview with this newspaper two years ago that injuries will never compromise his game. He does not second-guess his body and this season’s performances bear that out, always playing with full commitment and endeavour.

The accusation has long been that he does not operate with the same diligence away from matchdays. Bilic has told Carroll his future depends on simply being “more available than you are” and so it comes down to how much he wants to succeed.

Is he prepared to make the sacrifices necessary to finally enjoy an injury-free spell in his career?

Robin van Persie suffered fitness problems throughout his twenties but eventually found a way to condition himself to enjoy a sustained run of form which earned him a move to Manchester United and, for a while, made him the most effective striker in the Premier League.

(David Price/Arsenal FC via Getty Images)

United have another exemplary case in Zlatan Ibrahimovic who, at 35, is defying his advancing years and lack of pace by leading from the front.

It is of course a mismatch to compare these two decorated players to Carroll, but he was once destined for great things and remains the second-most expensive Englishman of all time after moving to Liverpool in 2011 for £35m.

Things never worked out for him at Anfield. It is in danger of going the same way at West Ham.

A move to China would be an admission he can no longer compete at the highest level. Let’s hope it does not end like that.

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