West Ham United are delighted to announce the signing of England striker Andy Carroll on a season-long loan deal.
The 23-year-old has moved to the Boleyn Ground from Liverpool for the remainder of the 2012/13 Barclays Premier League campaign, with the Hammers having the option to complete a permanent deal for an undisclosed fee next summer.
Carroll, a powerful forward who is an outstanding header of the ball and blessed with superb technical ability, led the line for his country at EURO 2012 and has been named in the England squad for the upcoming 2014 FIFA World Cup qualifiers with Moldova and Ukraine.
The signing of Carroll, who became the most-expensive English footballer in history when he joined Liverpool from Newcastle United for a reported fee of £35m in January 2011, represents a huge statement of the Board's intentions to make West Ham a force to be reckoned with in the Barclays Premier League.
The Gateshead-born frontman, who could make his Hammers debut in Saturday's home fixture with Fulham, has expressed his happiness at completing a move that sees him reunited with his former Newcastle manager Sam Allardyce and captain Kevin Nolan.
"It's great to be here at West Ham and all signed up - I just can't wait to get started now," Carroll said. "I want to be playing games and obviously hoping to score some goals. I know the manager well and some of the lads, so it is nice for me to come to a place where I know people.
"I'm hoping to add a lot of goals and create a few chances. I know Sam from Newcastle and he was a massive reason for me coming. When I worked with him at Newcastle it was great so it was a no-brainer really."
His new manager was understandably pleased to welcome Carroll to east London.
He said: "I think for all parties this is a great signing. Andy is an all-round footballer, but because he is 6'3" and one of his strengths is his aerial power, everybody dismisses the ability he possesses on the floor.
"Hopefully he can score goals for us and we will be in a very good position at the end of the year in the Barclays Premier League."
Carroll burst into the Newcastle first-team at the age of 17, making his first-team debut as a replacement for future Hammer Nolberto Solano in a UEFA Cup victory over Palermo on 2 November 2006 - an appearance that made him the youngest-ever player to represent Newcastle in Europe.
After scoring his maiden first-team goal past FIFA World Cup winner Gianluigi Buffon in a friendly win over Juventus in July 2007, Carroll embarked on a six-month loan spell with Championship side Preston North End.
On his return to St James' Park, the centre forward forced his way into the Magpies starting XI, scoring on his full home debut with a towering header against West Ham in a 2-2 Premier League draw on 10 January 2009.
The 2009/10 season saw Carroll come into his own as he combined with Nolan to shoot Newcastle to the Championship title and promotion back to the Premier League at the first attempt. The striker finished the campaign as the club's top scorer with 19 goals in all competitions and be voted into the Championship Team of the Year.
At the start of 2010/11, he then took the top-flight by storm, netting a hat-trick in a 6-0 win over Aston Villa and eleven goals in just 19 league appearances before completing his record-breaking move to Anfield.
Last season, Carroll collected a League Cup winner's medal as Liverpool beat Cardiff City before returning to Wembley to score the winning goal against Everton to take the Reds into the FA Cup final.
Carroll's performances for Newcastle earned him a senior England debut in a friendly international with France on 17 November 2010. His first senior international goal arrived in a friendly with Ghana at Wembley on 29 March 2011.
The striker's all-round ability saw him named in England's squad for the 2012 UEFA European Championship finals, where he impressed by scoring a trademark header in a group-stage victory over Sweden.
