Andy Carroll set to join eighth club of his career in surprise move to fourth-tier side

Few would have predicted Andy Carroll’s next career move when he joined Liverpool for £35 million in 2011.

The 35-year-old was once a highly sought-after striker, but has slipped down the football pyramid in recent years and now seems ready to ply his trade in the fourth French division.

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After spending last season with Ligue 2 side Amiens, French magazine L’Equipe now reports that Carroll is close to a move to Bordeaux.

The six-time Ligue 1 champion, once one of the biggest clubs in France, was relegated to the fourth division in July after going bankrupt and lost its professional status.

But Carroll, who made nine appearances for England, is apparently undeterred and is now ready to move to the Championnat National 2 team.

According to L’Equipe, the former Newcastle and Liverpool striker was persuaded to join Bordeaux by Amiens’ current sporting director, John Williams.

Although he still holds his post with the Ligue 2 side, Williams was reportedly on loan at Bordeaux this summer, helping the club build a new team to compete in the new league.

And after convincing Carroll to move from Reading to Amiens last summer, Williams seems to be doing it again.

Should he complete the move, the former giants would be the eighth club the Englishman has played for in his career.

And while the new league will consist mainly of semi-professional and amateur teams, Carroll would compete in a stadium with a capacity of 42,000 spectators – a significant improvement on the 12,097 seats in Amiens.

Having failed to make an impression in the French second division, scoring four goals in 31 appearances, the Englishman’s likely next destination is a long way from the heights he reached at the start of his playing career.

After making his debut for Newcastle’s first team at the age of just 17, the academy graduate made a name for himself at St. James’ Park.

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The 1.93m tall frontman scored 11 goals in 20 Premier League games in the first half of the 2010/11 season, earning him a move to Liverpool in January for what was then a record transfer fee for a British player.

Carroll’s form also earned him international recognition, and he made his England debut in November 2020 before scoring a goal for the Three Lions at Euro 2012.

Unfortunately, persistent injuries and fitness problems hampered his development and he was unable to regain his previous form at Anfield. He was eventually sold to West Ham in 2012.

A similar story unfolded for Carroll in east London, who scored 34 goals in 142 games before returning to Newcastle in 2018.

Even a move back to his first club did little to rekindle his goalscoring potential, and he scored just one goal in two years before playing in the EFL for Reading and West Brom between 2021 and 2023.

But now, after just one year in Ligue 2, he is about to move to the fourth French division and Carroll hopes to be able to draw on his past experience to help Bordeaux find their way back to the top.