Sky Sports pundit and former West Ham striker Tony Cottee believes that the rivalry between West Ham and Tottenham will stop Andy Carroll from joining Spurs in January. Carroll had been linked with a £2m move to aid Spurs' forward line during somewhat of an injury crisis.
Tottenham have been left short of options up front, due to Harry Kane's ankle injury and Son Heung-min's involvement in the Asia Cup with South Korea. Fernando Llorente remains Mauricio Pochettino's only fit senior striker at he club, and his performances haven't exactly inspired confidence from the Spurs faithful.
Carroll had been touted as a potential stop gap solution. The 30-year-old's current deal expires in the summer, meaning he'd be available on the cheap during the January window. However, Cottee believes that the existing bad blood between the two clubs makes any deal almost impossible.
"West Ham and Spurs don’t normally do business together, I don’t think there’s the best of blood there," Cottee said (as reported by Talksport).
“I don’t know whether he would fit into the Spurs style of play,” Cottee continued. “I don’t know whether they would want to adapt their game to fit in with Andy Carroll. If you’re going to play him, you have to give him service."
Carroll's time in east London has been ravaged with injury, with the striker only making more than 20 appearances in two of his six seasons with the Hammers. He would also have to be content being a bit part player, which Cottee thinks would be difficult.
“Any player that is looking to go to Spurs has got to be prepared to sit on the bench and watch what is England’s best centre forward. I think that’s why it’s been hard for Tottenham to get another centre forward into the club."
Source : 90min