"Realistic" Carroll to fight for place at Liverpool and resolve "unfinished business"

In an interesting twist to the Andy Carroll transfer saga, the Evening Chronicle are reporting this morning (yes, we know that sounds odd) that the on loan Liverpool striker is not expecting to be making a return to boyhood club Newcastle United- NOR is he planning a permanent switch to West Ham.

The Chronicle's man Lee Ryder claims that sources close to Carroll have said that the big striker has "unfinished business" at Anfield, where he is eager to continue his "good rapport with the Kop" and that he is "not expecting to be back at Newcastle or West Ham next season."

Mixed messages have been coming from Hammers manager Sam Allardyce, with the 59 year old stating in recent days that the club can't afford to sign the England man, under the new financial fair play regulations, but that Carroll is "critical" to the Irons' immediate future.

This is all just speculation at the moment, but this isn't good news for us Irons. There seems, for one thing, to be an awful lot more speculative stories floating around claiming to have been told by a source that Carroll's set to head back to Liverpool than those claiming they've heard he wants to sign for West Ham...

By Alex Shilling, News Editor

@alexshilling