Andy Carroll’s brace last week against West Brom has triggered immediate questions from the British media over the occasional England’s striker’s immediate future. The lanky Geordie has spent the year in the footballing wilderness, having been exiled to Upton Park by the incoming Liverpool  boss Brendan Rodgers at the start of the season, with fairly little in the way of assurances over whether Carroll will ever be let back in to the Anfield fold.

No doubt, the West Ham loanee will be breathing a sigh of relief following Sam Allardyce’s comments about making his move a permanent fixture. Big Sam said in a press conference last week preceeding this weekend’s clash against Liverpool; “I wouldn’t have spent as much time as I did trying to get him [Carroll] here if I didn’t want him here on a permanent basis. We would have hoped he’d score a few more goals, but the circumstances around why he hasn’t are ones we can put right. In other words, keeping him match-fit would mean more goals.”

Fairly promising words of intent from the Hammers boss, and similarly, Alan Pardew has continually referenced to and implied the possibilities of a return to St.James’s Park for Carroll throughout his West Ham tenure, all be it at a much lesser price than the £35million Newcastle sold him for just eighteen months ago.

But that is where the first problem over Carroll’s future is quickly encountered – how much is he actually worth? Whilst its now become commonly accepted that the £35million Liverpool forked out in January 2012 will go down in the history books as the most overzealous and plethoric transfer fee in the history of English, and possibly even world football, its aftermath and legacy will be the Hammers forward’s next move.

Should the tabloids’ predictions prove to be true, signing Carroll on a permanent basis at Upton Park, or financing a return to Newcastle will cost £17.5million. Of course, Liverpool are taking a 50% loss in good faith, but that still equates to £52.5million being spent on a striker in the space of 3 years that has only ever scored 25 Premier League goals.

It doesn’t take a monetary genius to realise that it hardly represents a good deal, especially considering the viable alternatives and recent transfers, including Christian Benteke from Genk to Aston Villa, at a cost of £7million – with the Belgian recording 15 goals and four assists in 25 league appearances, and being two years younger than Carroll – and Swansea’s Michu, whose move from Rayo Vallecano was a steal at just £2million, with the Spaniard currently fourth in the Premier League scoring charts, sitting behind three already established top flight footballers who are all candidates for Player of the Year.

So, can a potential £17.5million deal for Carroll actually be justified? Perhaps my comparative examples were a bit unfair, the largest factor behind transfers within the boundaries of the Premier League being so much, and similarly the prices of English players being so high, is that their capability of playing in the English top flight is already secured, and thus in theory, the risk of any potential transfer between one Premiership club to another will not result in a flop – although there are plenty of examples that would argue otherwise.

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And although perhaps Carroll is still yet to reignite the pedigree of his talent that lead to him finding the net 11 times in 19 appearances for Newcastle in the latter half of 2011, which also triggered his move to Anfield, there is no doubt that the 6 foot 3 front man, even on a bad day, is at least of some tactical use in the Premier League, as the threat he poses naturally draws opposing defenders towards him, and the confusion provided allows for the likes of Kevin Nolan to take advantage of the situation and find a vital yard of space in the penalty box.

Similarly, you get the feeling that Andy Carroll would have a job for life at West Ham. He fits perfectly into the Allardyce mould, centred around playing direct, hard-working football, and making the best out of dead ball situations. He provides the perfect focal point at the tip of the Hammers’ attack, and furthermore typifies the team’s current style; it’s no coincidence that four of the striker’s five goals this season have come from set pieces. With Allardyce at the Hammers’ helm, the club content for now with mid-table mediocrity, and Carroll providing an invaluable service up front even if he’s short of goals, there are shades and echoes of the career of Kevin Davies – whether that’s a good thing or not is open to interpretation.

Even at St. James’s, where under Alan Pardew the French revolution of arriving Ligue 1 talent has brought with it a more attractive, open and progressive style of play in comparison to West Ham’s, Carroll would still have a purpose at the club. The return of a prodigal son on Tyneside always pleases Magpies fans, and similarly there can hardly be any bad feelings about the move to Liverpool, considering the expensive transfer has essentially funded the influx of players that saw Newcastle finish 5th in the Premier League last season.

But what would his role actually be at the club? Papiss Cisse has had his ups and downs, and is not the player that many of his initial wonder goals suggested he may be, but going on record and form, he’d still claim a spot in the Starting XI as a lone striker over Carroll. He would certainly receive more game time than the ageing veteran Shola Ameobi, the Magpies’ only other senior forward, but if the West Ham striker is to be a regular bench warmer, he may as well take his chances at Anfield, and Newcastle may as well not fork out £17.5million for a player who would provide a service that could be attainable for a lot less, or even through the promotion of a decent youth product, or Ameobi himself for that matter.

I am a firm believer that Carroll’s potential future transfer would not be as disastrous as the last, recording just six goals in 44 league appearances in Liverpool colours, and I buy into the argument that had the nine-times-capped England man been match fit for the whole season, his goal tally would break double figures come the end of the current campaign. Similarly, there is no doubt that Carroll’s physique and aerial threat provides opportunities to score for his surrounding team mates.

But does a ten goal per season striker, who is essentially the next Kevin Davies, or perhaps Niall Quinn, really warrant a £17.5million transfer? Daniel Sturridge cost Liverpool £5million less just a matter of months ago, and Robin Van Persie cost £2.5million more less than a year ago.

Of course, every transfer comes with its own specific situation which pushes the fee in one direction or the other. But every party involved in Carroll’s future transfer will know that the deal will not be financially beneficial for either club. Liverpool will have to accept a considerable loss, whilst either Newcastle or West Ham will be acquiring a striker in the knowledge that he’s been purchased for above his market value. In terms of cost-effectiveness, the deal can never make sense, but for reasons that escape the realms of business, and out of sheer desire from Allardyce or Pardew to sign Carroll, I believe Liverpool will eventually receive a fee that is not too far away from their current asking price.