Striker who played over 100 times for West Ham spent ‘years’ wanting to join Newcastle United

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There are a handful of players who have spent time playing at both Newcastle United and West Ham.

The two Premier League sides come head-to-head at the London Stadium on Monday evening, with Newcastle United hoping to keep pace in their race for Champions League football.

Eddie Howe’s side have dropped to ninth in the Premier League table after this weekend’s results. However, the gap to the top five is still only three points so a win in London will put Newcastle back on track.

Winning in London will also be on Newcastle’s mind for next Sunday’s Carabao Cup final, where the Magpies will face Liverpool at Wembley.

But Howe is trying to keep Newcastle focused on the game ahead, and he has some big selection decisions to make including which striker will lead the line out of Callum Wilson or Alexander Isak.

Andy Carroll spent West Ham spell wanting to join Newcastle United

One striker who knows what it’s like to play for both Newcastle and West Ham is Andy Carroll, who spent two separate spells at St James’ Park.

He broke through to Newcatle’s first team from the academy in 2006 and spent five years with the club before Carroll made a £35m move to Liverpool.

However, his Anfield move didn’t go according to plan and after a season-long loan to West Ham in 2012, he ended up joining the Hammers permanently and spending six years with the London outfit.

When he was released by West Ham in 2019, Carroll made his return to Newcastle for his second spell – a move he had been after for “years”.

As quoted by the Daily Mail in 2019, Carroll explained he was desperate to move back to Tyneside.

“Honest to God, I’ve been trying to come back and wanting to come back for years,” Carroll said.

“I would have regretted it if I didn’t get to step on the pitch in the black and white again. Making my debut, starting the other day, creating goals, winning games, I appreciate it a lot more.

“I didn’t really get the chance to appreciate it the first time. I just kind of thought everyone got that chance at 17. I didn’t really understand it as much as I do now.”

Carroll was “gutted” his time at Newcastle ended in 2021, with reports claiming that Carroll wanted to stay at Newcastle.

Where Andy Carroll is playing now

After being released by Newcastle in 2021, Carroll spent a few years around the Championship with Reading and West Brom.

Carroll reunited with Steve Bruce at West Brom, but he only lasted a few months at The Hawthorns before returning to Reading.

In a surprise move, Carroll made a deadline-day move to Amiens in 2023 and he has been enjoying his time in France ever since.

READ MORE: The 26 footballers who have played for Newcastle United and Liverpool ahead of Carabao Cup final

After one season with Amiens, Carroll joined fourth-tier Bordeaux to try and help them in their journey back to the top of French football.

Following a brilliant start to the season, Carroll has now scored eight goals in 18 appearances for Bordeaux.