Would Liverpool FC striker Andy Carroll join Sunderland FC?

Sunderland manager Martin O'Neill has admitted he would love to sign Liverpool striker Andy Carroll.

Andy Carroll

Carroll, who joined Liverpool from Sunderland's rivals Newcastle at the start of 2011 for a club record £35million, has been linked with a number of clubs in recent days after it emerged that manager Brendan Rodgers is ready to offload him this summer.

Newcastle are keen on re-signing the 23-year-old should they be able to agree a fee with the Merseysiders, while West Ham are also interested.

But O'Neill has become the latest manager to throw his hat into the ring.

"Andy Carroll is a really good player, a really good player. Would he come to Sunderland?" the Northern Irishman was quoted by The Sun as saying.

"He is a very fine player."

Liverpool chairman Tom Werner earlier this week hinted that the club could make a decision on whether to sell Carroll in the near future.

Newcastle last week had a loan bid for the England international rejected but are expected to return with an improved offer, while in addition to West Ham, Carroll has also been linked with AC Milan, Aston Villa, and Fulham.

Werner insists Rodgers will have the final say on whether the target man will be sold during the transfer window.

"Brendan is clearly the leader here," he told Sky Sports News.

"The only thing I can say is we will do what is best for the club.

"At the moment Andy is on the squad, he is an important member of the England team and he has a lot of talent. We will see what happens."

And he added: "Hopefully the question will be answered shortly, but at the moment Andy is on the team and we look forward to him contributing."

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