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‘Roy Hodgson needs Andy Carroll’ says West Ham boss Sam Allardyce
SAM ALLARDYCE says Andy Carroll will bounce back from his Liverpool nightmare to spearhead England’s 2014 World Cup forward line.
Hammers boss Allardyce is convinced that Carroll’s year on loan at Upton Park has already been a key part of the striker’s rehabilitation following his rejection at Anfield.
Carroll, 24, completed his switch on Tuesday, signing a six-year contract worth £100,000 a week.
With England coach Roy Hodgson still looking for options up front as he tries to guide his side to the World Cup finals, Allardyce believes Carroll can provide the answer. Allardyce said: “Roy will come and watch Andy and he will create the headlines for West Ham.
“It is difficult to ignore Andy scoring and creating goals when England are so short. You can’t look at England and see them going to the World Cup without him. If he is playing and scoring goals, he could be first choice come the start of the World Cup.”
Carroll has been sold for a total of £19million, down from the £35m Liverpool paid Newcastle for him in 2010.
His season on loan at West Ham was hampered by injury, but he finished with seven goals in a late-season burst of renewed confidence.
Allardyce said: “We have acquired a player who was recently the most expensive British player. We haven’t done it cheaply, but we have definitely done it wisely.
“The size of the contract is a statement of our belief in Andy and Andy’s belief in us. Our relationship over the 12 months here was key to this deal.
“He came to us in a difficult frame of mind and had suffered with injuries but the support he got here was something with which he felt comfortable.
“He can now put his Liverpool experience behind him and show them what they missed by letting him go.”