Andy Carroll open to permanent West Ham move from Liverpool

Andy Carroll celebrates equalising against Southampton on Saturday

Andy Carroll is open to joining West Ham United permanently this summer, but admits his future remains uncertain.

The striker, bought by Liverpool for £35m, is on a season-long loan from the Reds but the Hammers can make the deal permanent for an undisclosed fee.

Asked if he would stay if West Ham put the right money on the table, Carroll said: "We will have to wait and see.

"It is obviously a great club and I do not see why not. We'll see what happens at the end of the season."

Carroll, who netted his sixth goal of the campaign on Saturday to earn West Ham a point at Southampton, added: "It has been great here and every minute has been fantastic.

"The lads have been great, the gaffer has been great and the fans are unbelievable."

Liverpool spent a club record to sign Carroll from Newcastle United in January 2011.

The 24-year-old failed to establish himself at Anfield and only made two appearances for Liverpool boss Brendan Rodgers before joining the Hammers in August.

Carroll cancelled out Gaston Ramirez's opener on Saturday to leave Sam Allardyce's Hammers seven points clear of the relegation zone.

The striker said: "With my goal, I just had to hit the target. Obviously it got a little bit of a deflection and went in, which sometimes happens.

"I have had a few injuries over the years and I am just getting over them now so it is good to get on a run of games and goals.

"I had a few chances and I think we could have won the game in the end. We are disappointed not to but happy we got the point."

Liverpool boss Brendan Rodgers insists he is comfortable with the decision to loan Carroll out, despite Saturday's goalless draw with Reading.

"It's not at all unfortunate that Andy's scoring goals," he said.

"We're the fourth highest goal scorers in the league, so scoring hasn't been a problem for us.

"Andy's situation is really simple. He didn't want to stay and be on the bench. He wanted to play games."