Great business for Liverpool, not so for West Ham?
Do injuries to three West Ham stars show Liverpool have done better business by getting rid of them?
Over the past two transfer windows West Ham have taken Joe Cole, Stewart Downing and Andy Carroll off Liverpool’s hands.
On the face of it you would think it would be very good business for both sides, but in reality it has been better for Liverpool than it has for the Hammers so far.
This is in no way a jibe Messer’s Cole, Downing and Carroll – but Liverpool wanted to clear them off the wage bill and raise necessary transfer funds for Brendan Rodgers to allow Liverpool to have a tilt at the top four this season.
But with Liverpool cashing in on Carroll and Downing and getting the wage bill down by a significant chunk, they will be delighted, but for West Ham it is a different story as the trio they signed from Liverpool are all sidelined with injuries.
They arrived at Anfield for fees tallying £55m, as well as becoming big earners on the wage bill, and a loss of over £30m is a significant dent to Liverpool’s coffers.
A hamstring injury Cole means he won’t return to the middle of October, Downing has a leg injury and Andy Carroll has suffered a further injury setback on his return to training with the side.
For West Ham it causes a headache, with Carroll being such a marquee signing for them after impressing and becoming a hit for Hammers’ fans last season, news of his setback must be a bit of a blow.
Joe Cole has had some impressive performances during his time back at West Ham, whilst we have seen little of Stewart Downing in a claret and blue shirt.
In the short term it looks as if Liverpool have done good business, certainly getting rid of Joe Cole was a popular move on Merseyside given the wages he commanded and how little he played for the side.
Downing was unpopular whilst Carroll didn’t fit into Rodgers style of play. It is early days at West Ham for the trio – maybe not so much for Cole – but there is still an opportunity for them to make an impression when they return to full fitness.
At the moment though, Liverpool must feel happy, that even at a cut-price, they probably recouped a bit more of the money they lost on these players than they perhaps should have done. Both sides will probably want them fitter sooner rather than later, so Liverpool can get the money on the performance related side of the transfer fees, and for West Ham for the obvious reason, to help them to more wins and as strong a season as possible.
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