West Bromwich Albion are reportedly set to release former Liverpool and England striker Andy Carroll at the end of the season.
The Athletic have reported that Baggies boss Steve Bruce has told Carroll that he will not be offered a new contract at The Hawthorns at the end of the 2021/22 season just three months after signing a short-term contract with the Championship side. Carroll was left out of the squad for West Brom’s 1-0 win over Reading on Saturday afternoon and it has been reported that Carroll will also not be involved on the final day of the season when West Brom take on an already-relegated Barnsley side.
For Carroll, it will be his fourth exit from a club in three years, having departed West Ham United in 2019, Newcastle United for a second time last year and Reading back in January.
Having been a free agent for the opening months of the season, Carroll finally got his first taste of action when being signed by cash-strapped Reading in November. Having scored twice in eight games, Carroll had the chance to sign a contract extension when his deal at the Select Car Leasing Stadium ran out in January.
Instead of extending his stay in Berkshire, Carroll opted to move to the West Midlands and join a West Brom side in need of a striker following an injury to £7m signing Daryl Dike. While there, Carroll scored three goals in 14 league games, but Bruce has opted not to keep the striker at the club next season and invest elsewhere up front in the summer as the Baggies look to bounce back from a disappointing 2021/22 campaign.
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Carroll’s campaign in the Championship has been his first outside of the Premier League since the 2009/10 term. That year, he scored 17 times in 39 Championship games to help the Magpies earn promotion up to the Premier League.
The physical striker had a stunning few months after that, scoring 11 goals in 19 Premier League games for the newly-promoted Magpies that led to him being signed by Liverpool for £35m as a replacement for Fernando Torres, who Liverpool sold to Chelsea that January for £50m.
While at Anfield, Carroll netted just 11 times in 58 matches in all competitions, leading to a loan exit to West Ham, where he would score seven goals in 24 games. The Hammers then signed Carroll permanently and he stayed with the London club for six years, netting 27 goals in 118 games before getting released.
When exiting the capital, Carroll returned to Newcastle, the club where he came through as an academy player. During his second spell in the north east, Carroll found the net just once in 43 matches across all competitions before his exit from St James’ Park at the end of last season.
With a departure from West Brom now expected, Carroll is expected to be on the hunt for a new club this summer. Across his spells with Reading and the Baggies, Carroll has scored five goals at an average of 324 minutes per goal.
Carroll has a career total record of 54 goals in 248 career matches in the Premier League. Throughout his career in the Championship, the forward has scored 23 times in 73 appearances.
