Andy Carroll: West Bromwich Albion striker to leave Championship club

Andy Carroll has scored three times for Steve Bruce's West Brom

West Bromwich Albion striker Andy Carroll is to leave the Championship club after not being offered a new deal for next season.

The 33-year-old former Newcastle, Liverpool, West Ham and England target man had impressed Albion fans, scoring three times in 15 appearances.

But boss Steve Bruce has said the under-performing Baggies' priorities lie in other parts of the team.

"I need to strengthen in other areas rather than number nines," said Bruce.

"Andy has done really well for us. He's in the best nick he's been in in years and I'm sure he'll get fixed up with a club.

"But we've got five centre-forwards and six centre-backs. We have an imbalance in the squad and we need to use the wages to strengthen in other areas," Bruce told BBC Radio WM.

"I know how popular Andy was in the dressing-room and it was a really tough decision to make, but I've got to think of the overall balance.

"I've got two other big strikers in Daryl Dike, who I've not seen play yet, and Kenneth Zohore, who we've paid a lot of money for and they're both number nines.

"Zohore hasn't had a great time of it but he's got a big summer ahead of him, to get himself fit and get back into some sort of contention."

It is the second time in nine months that Bruce has felt the need to let Carroll go following the frontman's second departure from Newcastle last July.

Carroll, who still lives close to London following his time at West Ham, then joined Reading on a short-term deal from November to January.

But, when that came to an end, he became Valerien Ismael's final signing for Albion - as cover for injured target man Dike.

Ismael was sacked just five days later but, after a sticky start for Bruce, in which he initially failed to correct the Baggies' faltering form, Carroll has been one of the leading lights in Albion's comparative late season recovery.

He scored three times, a dramatic late equaliser against Huddersfield and then also in the successive home wins over second-placed Bournemouth and Blackpool.

Albion boss Steve Bruce was talking to BBC Radio WM's Rob Gurney.