by Hugh Southon 10th May 2013 1:54pm BST
Exclusive
West Ham United co-owner David Gold has confirmed the club is involved in much behind-the-scenes activity aimed at clinching Andy Carroll's permanent signing.
After his fellow chairman David Sullivan had revealed the club's hand publicly, Gold said: "We are talking to people close to Andy - he's our number one priority target."
Speaking exclusively to SportsDirect News he added: "We would like to get everything agreed before the players return from the summer break (mid July).
"We don't want to go into pre-season training without him so we want to make it happen as quickly as possible."
Sullivan had declared: “We would love to keep him beyond this season and we will soon be sitting down with Andy and Liverpool to make some progress on that front.
“Andy has battled back from injury twice to put in a series of tireless shifts for the team. His game is about so much more than just scoring goals.
“He is so often the focal point of everything good we do going forward.”
The 24-year-old striker, who joined Liverpool in a £35 million deal from Newcastle in January 2011, has said he has enjoyed his time in London and would be open to a permanent deal but the stumbling block could be the price.
Liverpool are thought to be keen to secure at least £17m for Carroll but the Hammers are believed to be only willing to pay in the region of £10m for the forward.
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Exclusive
West Ham United co-owner David Gold has confirmed the club is involved in much behind-the-scenes activity aimed at clinching Andy Carroll's permanent signing.
After his fellow chairman David Sullivan had revealed the club's hand publicly, Gold said: "We are talking to people close to Andy - he's our number one priority target."
Speaking exclusively to SportsDirect News he added: "We would like to get everything agreed before the players return from the summer break (mid July).
"We don't want to go into pre-season training without him so we want to make it happen as quickly as possible."
Sullivan had declared: “We would love to keep him beyond this season and we will soon be sitting down with Andy and Liverpool to make some progress on that front.
“Andy has battled back from injury twice to put in a series of tireless shifts for the team. His game is about so much more than just scoring goals.
“He is so often the focal point of everything good we do going forward.”
The 24-year-old striker, who joined Liverpool in a £35 million deal from Newcastle in January 2011, has said he has enjoyed his time in London and would be open to a permanent deal but the stumbling block could be the price.
Liverpool are thought to be keen to secure at least £17m for Carroll but the Hammers are believed to be only willing to pay in the region of £10m for the forward.
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