Andy Carroll Likely Headed to West Ham; Implications for Newcastle

Liverpool and West Ham United have reportedly agreed a transfer fee for former Newcastle United striker Andy Carroll. (The Guardian) The fee is believed to be £12 million, with performance escalators that would likely push the final figure to £15 million. Carroll is said to be weighing his options.

Alan Pardew recently made public his desire to bring the Geordie back to St James' Park, calling him a "top-level striker." The price tag would likely be a hindrance: Newcastle United haven't spent more than £10 million on a single transfer fee since bringing Fabricio Coloccini over from Deportivo la Coruña in August 2008, and the transfer policy has changed significantly since then. Newcastle will get a 25% sell-on fee for Andy Carroll, so they have some lee-way, but do they want to break the bank on a single player? Pardew is rumored to be pressing Mike Ashley for enough cash to bring in 2 to 3 first team players, and an expensive purchase to start the summer may hinder efforts elsewhere.

If Carroll and West Ham can iron out the personal terms of the contract, NUFC will have £4 million to go shopping with. They'll also have one less center forward on their short list. Perhaps the most rumored name apart from Carroll is Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang of St. Etienne, a 23 year-old who scored 19 times in 32 league matches this season. Aubameyang is himself expected to command a transfer fee of over £10 million.