Andy Carroll joins West Brom on a free transfer

After his short-term deal with Reading concluded earlier this month, the former Liverpool and Newcastle striker became a free agent and is available to play at Millwall on Saturday.

After Daryl Dike suffered a hamstring injury on his full debut against Peterborough, West Brom moved for the former West Ham striker. He will be out for eight weeks. Dike joined The Hawthorns from Orlando City for £7 million earlier this month.

Word from West Brom

West Brom boss Valerien Ismael said: “Andy is a player who can help us straight away. He is ready and brings with him all the attributes we need. It could be a win-win situation for us.

“The fact Andy has played plenty of games for Reading recently is great. He’s fit after playing those games and he’s scored goals during that short-term deal. Hopefully, Andy can now score goals for us.

“After the Dike injury, we assessed the situation, because it is a big loss, and it was clear that he had made an impact in that short time.”

“We needed to replace him, and we are pleased to welcome Andy who has a lot of experience.”

About Andy Carroll

Carroll had been mentioned as a possible replacement for Chris Wood, who was sold to Newcastle for £25 million earlier this month.

Carroll was previously regarded as one of the best attackers in the Premier League, earning a £35 million transfer to Liverpool following a great start to the 2010/11 season with Newcastle. However, in 58 games at Anfield, he only scored 11 goals. After a successful season-long loan stays with West Ham, he returned to the Hammers in 2013.

He spent six years with the east London club before returning to his boyhood club Newcastle in 2019, signing a two-year ‘Pay as you Play’ contract. The 33-year-old just returned from a two-month loan spell with Reading, where he scored twice in eight games, including a 2-1 defeat at Middlesbrough.

In this month’s 7-0 home defeat against Championship leaders Fulham, he also had two screamers disallowed. Reading sought to extend Carroll’s contract, but he chose to join Albion, who are now in the fifth position, seven points off the automatic promotion places.

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