Andy Carroll returns to training as Sevilla loan falls through

Andy Carroll has returned to first-team training this week, after a season-long loan move to Sevilla fell through at the last minute.

It was claimed by the Daily Mail that Carroll was poised to join the Champions League side on loan for the season, but after a series of events, the move didn’t materialise.

West Ham were willing to send the England international to Sevilla, providing they had signed Juventus striker Simone Zaza on a season-long loan.

The Hammers agreed a £2.6m loan fee with Juventus for their €15m summer signing from Sassuolo, with an option to buy for £11.5m next summer.

However, another Juventus striker was also set to be on the move, as Sevilla – the club keen on Carroll – were also looking at signing fifth-choice Juventus striker Fernando Llorente.

Sevilla has agreed to take Carroll on loan for the season, with an obligatory €12m buy clause should he feature in 60% of their games this season, but this was before they persuaded Juventus to allow them to sign the Spanish international Llorente on a free transfer.

The La Liga club managed to get that deal over the line, and Llorente was announced as a Sevilla player this afternoon on a three-year deal, which caused Juventus to pull the club on a deal to send Zaza to West Ham, which in turn ended Sevilla’s interest in Andy Carroll.

Back at West Ham for good, Carroll was a full participant in today’s training, after Bilic announced he was “injury free” after missing the last 6 months with a knee injury.

Here’s a selection of photos from today’s training, primarily featuring the 26-year-old.