Ex-PL star reveals he ‘hoped’ he’d ‘fail’ Liverpool medical on transfer deadline day | OneFootball

Andy Carroll was playing in the Championship last season.

Former Liverpool striker Andy Carroll has revealed that he wanted to “fail” his “medical exam” ahead of a move to the Reds in 2011.

The former England under-21 international, who is now playing for French Ligue 2 side Amiens, joined Liverpool on transfer deadline day in the 2011 January window.

Carroll completed the surprise £35m move from Newcastle United, where he had scored 11 goals in 19 Premier League matches that season, before his forgettable spell at Anfield.

The 34-year-old scored 11 goals in 58 appearances in all competitions for Liverpool and goes down as potentially their worst ever January transfer window signing.

Liverpool were looking for a new striker after Fernando Torres decided to leave for Chelsea in a £50m deal and Carroll has explained to French newspaper L’Equipe why he didn’t initially want to move to Anfield.

“In fact, I wanted to stay, but from the moment Liverpool made this incredible offer, on the last day of the transfer window, I found myself, without really understanding why, in a helicopter,” Carroll told L’Equipe.

“As I was injured, I remember thinking, ‘I hope I fail the medical exam’. Then, to be honest, in hindsight, I think this transfer was a good thing.”

When pushed on why he felt that way about the move, Carroll explained: “Because it made me grow out of my comfort zone.”

Carroll was talking to L’Equipe with former side Newcastle United taking on Paris Saint-Germain in the Champions League on Wednesday night.

On whether Eddie Howe’s side have a chance of beating PSG, Carroll replied: “They were a bit tense for their return in the competition at Milan, but they will let loose at St James’ Park, where the atmosphere will be completely crazy.

“I will send them messages of encouragement before the game.”

Carroll had a second spell at his boyhood club in 2019 in the hope he could end his career on Tyneside – but things didn’t work out the way he’d planned.

The striker added: “The team wasn’t playing well, I wasn’t featuring much and, because of the pandemic, we played games in an empty St James’ Park, which was sad because the club draws all its strength from the fans.”

And Carroll admits he was a bit confused by some of the decisions Steve Bruce was taking at the time, he continued: “Players like Jacob Murphy, Sean Longstaff, Fabian Schär or Elliot Anderson were benched, even though they proved their worth. They are playing in the Champions League now.”