West Ham complete Carroll capture

West Ham have finally completed the signing of Andy Carroll, with the club smashing their record transfer fee to sign him from Liverpool.

The 24-year-old has joined the Upton Park outfit for an undisclosed fee – reported to be in the region of 15 million pounds – and he has signed a massive six-year deal, with the option of a further two.

Carroll was impressive for West Ham on loan last season, scoring seven goals in 24 Premier League appearances.

And the striker – who was signed by Liverpool for a then British transfer record of 35 million pounds from Newcastle – says he is delighted to have signed a permanent deal at the club.

“It’s fantastic for me to be here. I really enjoyed last season, and that shows in me coming back and making it permanent,” Carroll told the club’s official website.

“The fans, the lads and the club itself has been great to me, and what I wanted to do was come back here and play football.”

Carroll says he has “missed” West Ham during the off-season and believes the club, under manager Sam Allardyce, are heading in the right direction.

“Since the end of the season I’ve had a lot of time to think, I’ve missed it and that’s why I’m back,” he added.

“Getting promoted the season before last, then finishing where we did – we did great, and it can only get better for us.

“The way the club’s being run, obviously getting the new stadium and everything like that, it’s only going up.”

Carroll – who has won 12 caps for England – will wear the number nine shirt at West Ham.