Liverpool FC: What Andy Carroll's Loan Means for His LFC Future

This past Thursday, Liverpool and new boss Brendan Rodgers made the call to accept a deal to loan striker Andy Carroll to West Ham.

The news wasn’t overly surprising, given that Rodgers seemed to think that Carroll's playing style did not fit with Liverpool. Still, the mere £1 million, combined with Carroll’s salary for the year, was a low price for West Ham to pay.

This is coming just two seasons after Liverpool purchased Carroll from Newcastle with a £35 million bid.

The move by Liverpool showed a clear intent to save money and get Andy Carroll out of town. That should make it obvious that Carroll’s loan to West Ham will spell the end of his brief career with the Reds.

This article will go through exactly what Carroll's loan means for his LFC future.

Beyond anything else, the recent loan of Andy Carroll shows that Brendan Rodgers did not like the 23-year-old striker. That means that there is very little chance Carroll will come back to Liverpool unless Rodgers is gone.

Coming into the season, Rodgers had the task of dealing with the problems brought on by past management. On the top of that list was getting rid of bad contracts.

He made Carroll one of his first targets, and while he claimed that he was not willing to part with the striker, he obviously did so anyways.

Of course, Rodgers believed that he could get another player to come to Liverpool for less money, and that’s why he loaned Carroll out. That point he made obvious in a recent interview.

Still, Brendan Rodgers was willing to deal away one of his top strikers with just the hope of signing a replacement. That should show how little he likes Andy Carroll as a player.

Furthermore, it should give evidence that Carroll will probably not be back in Liverpool as long as Rodgers is there, since there will always be a replacement player he can potentially sign.

Two seasons ago, Liverpool were willing to pay £35 million for the rights to then-21-year-old striker Andy Carroll. Now, they are attempting to deal him away for just under half of that cost.

Sure, Carroll endured an off year last season and has seen steady decline over the past two. Still, the fact that the Reds are willing to send him off while losing so much money shows how little he is worth to them.

That doesn’t even speak to the mere £1 million that they accepted as his loan fee for this season.

Recently, attackers Steven Fletcher and Fabio Borini were sold at around the same price as Carroll is now being offered at. They are comparable players to him, so they should establish that the asking price on him is fair.

Still, it seems unreasonable for a club to be willing to sell a promising 23-year-old player for a fair price, especially when they are weak at his position.

The low price should be a big sign that Liverpool don't want any part of Andy Carroll in their future.  

Despite Liverpool’s best efforts to get rid of Carroll for good, they were unable to sign a deal that included a guarantee of sale.

Instead, the deal with West Ham is for a one year, £1 million loan with an option for a purchasing price of £17 million at the end of the season.

Unless Carroll lives up to his potential and plays a great season, he will likely end up back in Liverpool next season. If that happens, they will probably attempt to sell him again and end up loaning him for a low price.

Most likely, Andy Carroll will find himself on loan again next season, but with a different team. His price tag is simply too much, and it is hard to believe that Liverpool will back off much more on their sale price.

Another factor in this process is what Carroll decides he wants to do. If he ends up back in Liverpool after this season, as is likely, it is very possible that he will ask for a transfer.

It seems that Carroll will play a big role for West Ham this season. Being a featured player again will make him less likely to want to go back to Liverpool, where he had been relegated to the bench.

Already, he has had a good showing with West Ham, despite hurting himself in his debut. No doubt the extra cheers and love that he has been shown in Upton Park will make him think twice about returning to the Reds.

It will be interesting to see what happens to Andy Carroll after this season, but it will almost certainly not include a return to Liverpool.