Former West Ham star joins French side Bordeaux

Last month, it was revealed that French side Bordeaux would be relegated to the French fourth division National 2 after some off-field issues in recent seasons. This came as a huge surprise for a lot of European football fans as Bordeaux were one of the top teams in the Ligue 1 a few years ago, however now they will have to play in the fourth division this season. In recent seasons, several top teams in Europe's top five leagues have been relegated from the first division such as Leicester City, who won the Premier League title in the 2015/16 season and were relegated to the Championship for the 2023/24 season. 

Similarly, Bundesliga side Schalke also got relegated from the first division after an underwhelming 2020/21 season and despite achieving promotion in the following season, they were relegated again to Bundesliga 2. Hence, Bordeaux are trying to achieve promotion back to the French first division in the next few years, however, they will need to be consistently good in the upcoming seasons to do that. Now, a former West Ham star has reached an agreement to join Bordeaux on a free transfer in this transfer window. 

Former West Ham star joins French side Bordeaux

According to BBC, 35-year-old centre forward Andy Carroll, who played for several Premier League teams such as West Ham, Newcastle United and Liverpool, will now join the French side after leaving Ligue 2 side Amiens at the end of the last season. Carroll made 142 appearances in seven years for the Hammers and scored 34 goals, establishing himself as a fan favourite during his stay at the London Stadium. Aside from being a quality striker, Carroll is an important team player and will bring his wealth of experience playing in several top European leagues making him an invaluable asset for Bordeaux. 

Moreover, signing a former Premier League star will also help Bordeaux's young talents to learn and take inspiration from Carroll as they continue their development to be a world class player and get more playing time at the club. Thus, this is a great transfer move from Bordeaux as they want to assemble a good squad with a balance between young and experienced players that will help them to gain promotion to the National 1 after the end of this season.