Green Street Hammers
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Andy Carroll running like he wants a new West Ham contract

By Adam Smith

LONDON, ENGLAND - FEBRUARY 04: Andy Carroll of West Ham United battles for possession with Divock Origi of Liverpool during the Premier League match between West Ham United and Liverpool FC at London Stadium on February 04, 2019 in London, United Kingdom. (Photo by Richard Heathcote/Getty Images)
LONDON, ENGLAND - FEBRUARY 04: Andy Carroll of West Ham United battles for possession with Divock Origi of Liverpool during the Premier League match between West Ham United and Liverpool FC at London Stadium on February 04, 2019 in London, United Kingdom. (Photo by Richard Heathcote/Getty Images) /
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Andy Carroll seems to be getting an awful lot of looks atop of Manuel Pellegrini’s formations, with both starts and sub appearances. Hate him or love him, Carroll is playing like he wants a new contract with West Ham, but should he get one?

There is little to no question that West Ham will be a drastically different team to start the 2019/2020 season, especially in the striker department. With every striker linked with moves away from the team, the only viable option left from this season could be Xande Silva… and Andy Carroll?

Chicharito seems to be determined to move to La Liga with Valencia linked to him this January. The move seems mutually beneficial as West Ham can’t feasibly pay his wages to have him come off the bench sparingly, and the less physical Spanish league should allow him to succeed in the box more regularly.

Lucas Perez will likely move along with Chicharito to Spain. The 31-year-old striker has blown hot and cold for West Ham but certainly has a job to do for the rest of this season, however, he lacks any sort of consistency and can’t be relied on for regular use. Real Betis seem interested and if West Ham or another club pry Maxi Gomez off of Celta Vigo there could be an opening for him there as well.

Arnautovic isn’t really worth talking about because his proposed move to China really just hinges on him having a good second half of this season and avoiding any serious injuries. Again, Arnautovic should be motivated by his new incentivized contract to score for West Ham so he’ll probably be our first choice striker moving forward this year.

So what about Andy Carroll? No one is more polarizing then him in the West Ham world. He’s incredibly powerful and unique when he plays well, but has been inconsistent for the last few years with injury problems all too frequent.

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When an opportunity is given to him this season, Carroll runs a lot harder than we’ve seen him in previous seasons. Maybe Pellegrini is motivating him or maybe the reality of his cushy life in London coming to an end with his expiring contract is creeping into his mind. Either way, it seems like the mystery of next season has lit a fire under Carroll.

The problem is that he isn’t scoring. Kind of a big problem for a striker, right? He also is an enigma in that when he comes on for 15-20 minutes he looks like he doesn’t have enough time to get into the game, but when he starts he doesn’t look up to game speed.

He’s certainly a frustrating player but he’s earned the trust of his manager as he has appeared in eleven straight league games. A string of goals to end the season could really make things interesting for offseason negotiations. There’s no hope the team picks up his option but a new deal with a base salary of (let’s say) £40k/week, incentivized for starts, bench appearances, goals, and assists could be tempting for both parties.

The reality is that Carroll is probably off at season end. The allure of a new player joining the team that Pellegrini has identified as a possible contributor to the next step of his plan is too enticing to pass up. Still, though, Carroll is unplayable on his day and brings a physical and simplistic approach to the game. I’m torn.