Former England striker was not too fussed about rejected Spurs offer

One former Premier League striker has revealed how he felt when he found out about Tottenham’s rejected offer in 2011, and has shed light on how his late switch to Liverpool came about.

Striker failed to deliver on early promise

When Andy Carroll first burst onto the scene at Newcastle United, he took the Premier League by storm, with defenders struggling to cope with his strength and physicality.

The Englishman showed a tremendous eye for goal and looked well on his way to becoming a top player, but the striker hit a serious bump in the road following his big-money move to Liverpool, and he never managed to recover from that.

The centre-forward has since had spells at West Ham, back at Newcastle, Reading, and West Brom, but never managed to find his scoring boots.

Andy Carroll reveals rejected Spurs offer

Carroll, who now plays in the French fourth-tier for Bordeaux, has revealed that it was not just Liverpool, but also Spurs, who came in for him back in 2011.

The striker explained that both bids were turned down by Newcastle and that he thought he was staying at St James’ Park before a late improved offer from the Reds was accepted by the Magpies.

Carroll told So Foot: “There’s an image that comes back to me. I’m in the club gym, the TV is on Sky Sports, and then a news report comes out saying that two offers for me had been rejected: Tottenham and Liverpool, I think.

“It was the day after a game, so we were sitting with all the players who had played the day before, warming up. People kept asking me questions.

“I’m not going anywhere, lads. I’m staying here. I’m about to sign a new four or five-year contract.” Then they advised me to go and have a word with the manager (Alan Pardew), which I did, and he said, ‘Er, no, you’re staying’.”

“I was on the same wavelength, but a little later the news came out that a new offer from Liverpool had been accepted. I went back up to the boss’s office and said, ‘Yeah, we’ve accepted. The helicopter’s waiting for you.’ He basically said, ‘See you later’, and I was gone.”

Tottenham dodged a bullet

Tottenham might have seen Newcastle’s snub as a big missed opportunity at the time but with hindsight, it is clear that the club dodged a bullet.

It is worth pointing out that Liverpool paid £35m for Carroll, which was a huge fee back in 2011, and a considerably bigger fee than the one they paid to sign Luis Suarez from Ajax in the same window.

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