West Ham boss Sam Allardyce has not ended his interest in Liverpool's Andy Carroll but fears he would not have the money for a permanent deal.
But Hammers boss doubts he has the funds to sign striker
West Ham United manager Sam Allardyce has not ended his interest in Liverpool striker Andy Carroll but fears he would not have the money for a permanent deal.
The Hammers have throughout the summer been linked with the England international, who missed his club's Europa League win over Hearts on Thursday
due to a hamstring injury.
It is thought Carroll does not feature in the future plans of Brendan Rodgers but the Anfield manager is adamant he would not loan the £35million to any other club.
Liverpool are also determined to recoup as much as possible of the record-breaking fee they paid Newcastle United just over 18 months ago, while Carroll is understood to only be interested in joining a club who play in Europe.
And with Allardyce on the brink of
spending a reported £10.75m on Matt Jarvis, the West Ham boss does not think he would be able to afford anything other than a loan.
But he does remain hopeful, as he said: "Many things in the final week of the transfer window emerge and should it be the case that we would be able to do something then I think it would probably only be a loan.
Quality
"We would see if we could pursue it and clinch it, but if we only finish with Matt and nobody else I would be happy with the squad I've got.
"While it is not quite as big as I'd like it to be, I think it has got a lot of quality.
"My problem is there may not be funds available for Andy now.
"If Andy became available or anybody became available and they wanted to join West Ham, I would ask the owners. At the moment that is not the case and we just have to wait and see if and when that situation arises."
The former Newcastle boss added: "If we play Carlton Cole, Nicky Maynard, Ricardo Vaz Te, (Modibo) Maiga - they are all players that play in the front three wide positions.
"What isn't there is a proven Premier League goalscorer, apart from Carlton Cole who can get 10 or 11 goals a season.
"Nicky, Ricardo and Maiga are not proven so you hope it will be all right, but you cannot tell until you get eight or 10 games in."
