Last chance for Andy Carroll? A return to the Premier League is on the cards

Andy Carroll was 33 years old at the beginning of the year. No one, not even himself, seemed to believe that he would ever play in the top English competition again in the future. But the departure of Chris Wood to Newcastle and especially his expiring contract at Reading opened up new possibilities for the tall striker.

His form is not at all dazzling. He has only managed to score 6 league goals in the last 5 seasons. In two of those five seasons he even came up empty. Moreover, after the end of the 2020/2021 season, his contract at Newcastle, the club that brought him up and to which he returned to regain his lost form, will expire.

The owner of 9 starts for the England national team was without a commitment until November 2021, when he was approached by Reading coach Veljko Paunovic and signed a short-term contract until 15 January 2022. The coach of the team, currently 21st in the Championship and thus fighting for relegation, immediately started to deploy Carroll.

Even on the day his contract was ending, the English striker managed to score a goal in the Championship in the Middlesbrough net. All was set for a contract extension until at least the end of the current season. But Reading’s situation was complicated by the transfer of Burnley’s biggest star Chris Wood to Newcastle.

Burnley had a number 1 striker in Wood. However, the injury to Ashley Barnes, Maxwell Cornet’s participation in the Africa Cup of Nations and the very poor productivity of Jay Rodriguez and Czech striker Matej Vydra, forced Sean Dyche, Burnley’s head coach, to look around the transfer market and find a suitable replacement for the New Zealand cannonballer.

Andy Carroll’s good performances have impressed the Burnley head coach so much that he would like to bring him into his ranks. However, Reading are still against him and, according to Veljko Paunovic, they have made all the necessary steps to keep Carroll in the blue and white colours until the end of the season.

There has also been speculation that Carroll could return to West Ham United as he has been seen at the London club’s training centre, according to unconfirmed sources.

So the question remains whether the England winger will try to restart his career in the Premier League even with the risk of not featuring regularly, or if he will stay in the Championship where, according to the Reading coach, he is guaranteed minutes on the pitch.

But an even bigger question mark is Carroll’s health, as the last time he made more than 20 league starts was six years ago and he has spent more time in recovery than on the pitch.

Source: Sky Sports, Reading