Newcastle United’s Premier League rivals West Ham United offered the club a stunning swap deal including Andy Carroll and Jonjo Shelvey, according to The Chronicle.
The newspaper claims that the Hammers floated the idea of a Carroll for Shelvey switch, but that it was flatly rejected by Rafael Benitez’s side.
The Daily Mail reported earlier this month that the East London club are interested in signing the former Swansea City man, while Carroll was linked with a £2million move to Tottenham Hotspur by The Sun on Monday.
Carroll is a former Newcastle player, of course, and his contract with West Ham is up at the end of the season, while Shelvey has been struggling for game time recently due to injury.
OPINION
Thank goodness that Newcastle rejected this proposed deal. Carroll for Shelvey is like trading a cart horse for a thoroughbred racehorse. The former seems to have plummeted to new lows with his atrocious miss in West Ham’s defeat to Bournemouth on Saturday, while the latter – although currently injured – possesses game-changing quality. The emergence of Sean Longstaff and the fine form – pre Asian Cup – of Ki Sung-yueng may make it difficult for Shelvey to get back in the Newcastle team upon his return from injury. However, to consider casting him aside would be madness, especially for a past-his-best frontman like Carroll. The Englishman did enjoy huge success on Tyneside, but that was a long time ago. He’s not the same player anymore and, besides, the Magpies already have a battering ram-type striker in Salomon Rondon. No, this deal is best left well alone from a Newcastle perspective.
