West Ham Look To Capitalise On Liverpool Flops
A total of £55 million is the amount Liverpool paid in transfer fees to acquire the services of Andy Carroll and Stewart Downing in 2011. Just two years they later, they both face being sold for less than half of that.
What’s more, the amount raised from the Reds selling the two players barely covers the £20 million they spent on Downing alone. That leaves them with a loss of £35 million, a figure they have no doubt heard enough of after Carroll’s lack of an impact at Anfield.
To be fair to Liverpool, both players had proven they have ability prior to their signing. Whether the club overpaid is a matter of opinion, but Downing and Carroll certainly did not live up to their price tags. Whilst there was definitely more pressure on young striker Carroll, the general feeling at the time was that the price for Downing was fair given his form in the previous season for Aston Villa. The winger failing to deliver a single goal or assist in his debut Premier League campaign for the Reds was shocking to say the least.
West Ham took Carroll on loan for the whole of last season, paying a fee of £2 million to do so. They then completed his permanent signing this summer for a club record transfer fee of £15 million. After dealing with the Merseyside club once, they now look set to sign Downing for around £6 million.
The players might not have lived up to expectations at Anfield, but they will both now look to re-launch their careers in East London. Whether their failings at Liverpool were down to pressure, not featuring in the manager’s plans or otherwise, the England internationals have been given an opportunity to prove why they were once valued so highly.
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