West Ham set absurd asking price for Andy Carroll with Chelsea lurking (for some [FUNNING] reason)

The Andy Carroll stories aren’t going away anytime soon unfortunately, with reports in the last few hours claiming that Chelsea remain interested and that there are “fears” at West Ham that Carroll could force a move.

That latter bit, from the Telegraph’s Jason Burt, isn’t all that unreasonable considering that Carroll’s only made 14 appearances (8 starts) so far this season in all competitions, and while he’s been injured a fair amount (as usual), he’s made it clear that he wants to play more. Whether he truly thinks he would get more playing time at Chelsea isn’t all that clear, but this is the story the rumor mill’s selling.

The first bit, about Chelsea’s interest continues to baffle and bewilder, especially after West Ham rejected the idea of a short-term loan move. We could probably justify a temporary arrangement for the second-half of the season — Carroll, when fit, is not a bad target man and could conceivably provide a battering ram for Chelsea to use in specific scenarios — but the Hammers apparently aren’t interested.

With a loan move off the table, a more permanent transfer could be under consideration, with West Ham, according to Sky Sports, setting a rather outrageous £35m asking price. Incidentally, that’s the same price Liverpool once paid for him thanks to Chelsea being foolish enough to splurge on Fernando Torres, and that’s also the price the equally 29 years old Alexis Sanchez and his expiring contract are apparently going for.

It’s unclear if West Ham’s asking price is a de facto hands-off warning or if they think Chelsea are gullible and desperate enough to pay that much.

Surely not...