Alan Pardew has recalled how Liverpool’s £35m acquisition of Andy Carroll in 2011 created a ‘massive problem’ for the Newcastle side that he managed at the time.
It was 13 years ago this month that the Reds made the striker their then club-record signing from St James’ Park (BBC Sport), arriving at Anfield on the same transfer deadline day which saw Luis Suarez secured from Ajax and Fernando Torres leave for Chelsea.
Speaking on The January Transfer Window Show for talkSPORT, the then-Magpies boss recounted how, as he boarded a flight from London, he initially told Derek Llambias (the club’s managing director at the time) that £30m wasn’t enough for the forward.
However, Pardew was still taken aback when Liverpool raised their offer to what they eventually paid for Carroll, saying: “I got on the phone to Derek and said ‘I think if you get £35m maybe there’s a discussion’, thinking there’s no way [then-LFC manager] Kenny Dalglish is going to spend £35m on Andy Carroll.
“I went to training, popped around, it was all enjoyable and lovely. Then there was the bid for £35m and we were all stunned. It was the British transfer record at the time and it was a massive problem for us. It left us really short.”
Carroll never quite lived up to his price tag at Liverpool, with his time at Anfield ending with just 11 goals in 58 appearances (Transfermarkt).
It’s a sign of the times that, a mere 13 years ago, £35m was viewed as a seismic transfer sum for a 22-year-old English striker who’d scored 11 goals in 19 Premier League games during the prior half-season for Newcastle (BBC Sport) – just think of what such a player would cost this month!
You can view Pardew’s comments on the Carroll transfer below (from 20:31), via talkSPORT on YouTube: