Newcastle and Sunderland will battle it out for the signature of West Ham and England striker Andy Carroll, according to a report in the Mirror.
West Ham are open to offers for the in-form striker after the board told Slaven Bilic that he must offload several players to fund any moves he wishes to make in the January transfer window.
The club is hoping they can make a profit on the £15 million that they paid for 26-year-old back in 2013.
Since joining West Ham on a permanent basis, the 6ft 3in forward has notched 10 goals in 45 appearances having regularly missed large parts of the season due to injury.
Despite the common injuries, neither Sunderland or Carroll’s previous club Newcastle seem undeterred with both team’s managers keen on adding to their forward lines. Newcastle appear to be in the driving seat for the player’s signature, with West Ham’s co-owner David Sullivan claiming Carroll would not sign for the rivals of his boyhood club Newcastle.
Whether Steve McLaren will be given more funding is yet unknown. Despite spending £40million during the summer transfer window, the team has made no real improvement and they currently sit third from bottom, two points off safety.
Sunderland are in desperate need of more striking options with the club two points behind their North East rivals and struggling to score goals. Sam Allardyce will be hoping the belief and confidence he showed in Carroll during his time at West Ham may be enough to lure his main target to the Stadium of Light.
