OPINION
West Ham must take the easy option when it comes to balancing their books this summer and sell Andy Carroll as it would be a brilliant business decision.
Dedicated Hammers website Claret & Hugh reported on Friday that the Hammers were looking to spend over £100million on incoming transfers so would look to raise £30million from player’s sales in order to balance the books.
The report shared how the Hammers could do that by pricing up the potential sales of player such as Robert Snodgrass while also stating that Carroll was unlikely to be sold in this window.
While the Hammers can probably easily raise £30million from the sale of other players in order to get their net spend down to £70million, which is what their aim is according to Claret & Hugh, getting rid of Carroll now would be a great decision.
The 29-year-old forward has proven time and time again that due to his tendency to suffer injuries that he is not a player the club can rely on.
Therefore he would be no great loss to the club’s chances of success on the field next season and could easily be sacrificed to raise funds quickly.
Carroll earns £90,000-a-week (As stated by website Spotrac) and his departure would significantly lower the wage bill in one swoop as well as bring in the funds needed to continue the club’s summer spending spree.
It was believed when Chelsea were interested in the forward in January, as reported by the Guardian, and that the Hammers were set to demand £20million for his services.
While it’s hard to imagine, there are probably clubs willing to pay that amount for him given his proven track record in the Premier League.
If the Hammers sold Carroll for that amount then that leaves them with just £10million more to raise in order to successfully balance their books.
The other reason why selling the forward now would be a fantastic move is because the 29-year-old’s contract expires in 2019 and this could be a chance to get a decent fee for him.
The club may have an option to extend his contract by a further two-years, which was reported by the Daily Star upon him joining in 2013, but given he won’t be a first-team regular in the 2018/19, his value will continue to decrease.
This means that this summer is when his value will truly be at its peak as it’s likely to never be this high again so as the Hammers have a desire to raise £30million, they should sell Carroll in order to complete a brilliant business move.