Andy Carroll (Photo by ROMAIN PERROCHEAU/AFP via Getty Images)placeholder image
Andy Carroll (Photo by ROMAIN PERROCHEAU/AFP via Getty Images)
Former Liverpool, West Ham and Newcastle United striker Andy Carroll, who also played nine times for England, has joined sixth-tier Dagenham & Redbridge, putting an end to speculation that Cobblers were interested in signing him.
Rumours have swirled on social media and across fan forums in recent weeks that the 36-year-old, who scored two goals for England, was close to joining Northampton having trained with the club this summer, but although he has spent time with manager Kevin Nolan, a close friend of his from their Newcastle United days, Cobblers were never seriously looking at signing him.
He has now penned a three-year deal with Dagenham, who play in the National League South, after leaving Bordeaux last month. He spent just one season in France and was keen to come back to England this summer to be closer to his children.
Carroll said in an interview with Sky Sports that he had ‘clubs ringing me up from higher leagues’ but it was important that he moved to a team which was the right fit. "It doesn't matter the level, or anything, as long as I get on the pitch and play football, that's all that matters," Carroll said.
"Coming here and showing people I am just playing for the love of football rather than the money and the level is something I wanted to do. This is something which could be fantastic. We have a project to get them out of non-league and back up the leagues."
On the day they signed Carroll, Dagenham & Redbridge also announced a deal to sell the club to a consortium of private investors from Qatar.
A club statement said: “The new ownership group will appoint Mr. Youseph Al Sharif as interim chairman, supported by the club’s former captain, Anwar Uddin MBE, who joins as a non-executive director. They will be joined on the board by investors bringing extensive expertise in football data and finance.”
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