Around a week back, we published a piece titled ‘3 Strikers Who Can Replace Morelos At Rangers Including Gerrard’s Former Teammate‘. The team-mate here was former Liverpool striker Andy Carroll who currently plays in the Premier League for West Ham United.
We don’t want to brag and neither we are suggesting that we are working in Rangers’ transfer committee. But if latest reports from the Scotsman are to be believed, then Rangers are going to target the big English striker in the upcoming summer transfer window.
Carroll currently earns £90,000 a week, and it is being said that Rangers will look to drive a hard bargain to bring him to Ibrox. The Gers though don’t need to spend a penny on transfer fees for this nine-time England international as his contract with the Hammers is close to running out and he would be a free agent by the end of the ongoing season.
There is no doubt that without the presence of Gerrard, there wouldn’t be much chance of Rangers signing a player of this stature. However, we believe that it isn’t going to be this straightforward as quite a few Premier League clubs can go after him. The 30-year-old forward has had a hard time at West Ham due to injuries, and we don’t expect him to be offered a new contract.
Even after his comeback from injury, the striker has struggled for game time as Pellegrini has preferred to use Marko Arnautovic or Javier Hernandez up top. At his best, Carroll can be a big signing for Rangers, and his physicality and aerial prowess will make a lot of difference in the final third.
However, some fans might be sceptical of this move as the striker is currently on a decline and is also very injury prone. His wages aren’t going to be cheap, and he is also in his thirties. Therefore there are quite a few red signals involved in this signing.
Nevertheless, we feel that he could still come in handy at Ibrox as we often see Rangers putting in a lot of crosses, especially from the right where Daniel Candeias and James Tavernier play. Morelos might be a brilliant striker but he certainly doesn’t have that ‘altitude advantage’ which someone like Carroll might exploit.
Even now we would stick our head out and say that at his best, Carroll can be the best target man in the Premier League. Therefore Rangers can offer him a two or three-year deal, and he can wreak havoc if he manages to stay fit for the most of the season.
