West Ham have informed ESPN that they have given up on trying to sign Andy Carroll after three weeks of chasing the Liverpool striker.
PA PhotosAndy Carroll arrived at Liverpool in January 2011
• Carroll wants to stay at Anfield
The Hammers were hopeful that an eight-year contract worth £36 million would have tempted Carroll, along with his links with Kevin Nolan and Sam Allardyce, his former team-mate and manager at Newcastle United.
But the England forward has no intention of moving down to London and a West Ham source told ESPN on Monday: “Sadly, it is true, we have conceded defeat in trying to sign Andy Carroll.”
The breakdown of the sale of Carroll will make it more difficult for new Liverpool manager Brendan Rodgers to land top transfer targets Clint Demsey and Joe Allen, though the sale of Daniel Agger to Manchester City has been mooted as a way of raising money to fund a spending spree.
Allardyce, meanwhile, has been forced to turn his attentions elsewhere in his bid to find a player to spearhead the Hammers’ first season back in the Premier League, with the former Bolton boss thought to have a shortlist of three potential forwards.
