Former Liverpool striker Andy Carroll has been rated as one of the Premier League’s all time worst January transfers by Sky Sports.
The Geordie giant arrived on Merseyside from Newcastle United for £35million in 2011, combining with Luis Suarez in an attempt to replace Fernando Torres’s goals at Anfield.
The England international netted just six times in two seasons at Liverpool before being shipped off to West Ham United, where the injury problems he experienced as a Red have continued.
The broadcaster have rightfully listed Carroll as one of the worst January transfers of all time, as his miserable on-pitch return did nothing to justify the hefty fee that Sir Kenny Dalglish paid for him.
OPINION
There is no doubt that the Carroll purchase is one of the more embarrassing signings in Premier League history. To be fair, at the time of his signing he was banging the goals in for Newcastle, but someone at Liverpool should have known that he would never suit their style of football. They couldn’t have realised how often he would be injured, of course, but even when he was fit he stood out like a sore thumb on the pitch. He just wasn’t suited to a footballing team like Liverpool, he’s never had the technical ability to operate in a side like that. Perhaps Fernando Torres’s disastrous move from Anfield to Stamford Bridge is the only thing that rivals Carroll as a mid-season blunder. But at least the Spaniard helped Chelsea win trophies. Carroll really had no significant impact on Liverpool, and so it’s right that he be considered one of the worst January signings of all time.
