Non-league club give two-word response after Andy Carroll linked with sensational return to football

Andy Carroll has been linked with a return to English football, with a Non-league manager asked about the former Liverpool and West Ham striker.

Newcastle academy graduate Carroll has been in France for the past two seasons, turning out for Amiens and Bordeaux.

He scored 11 goals in 23 games in the fourth tier of French football as Bordeaux, plagued by financial issues in recent years, finished fourth in Group B.

Despite enjoying his football in France, Carroll left after a single season to be closer to his family in England, with the club describing him as "an exceptional and generous personality that the Club's fans and employees have enjoyed working alongside" as they bid farewell.

Without a club, the 36-year-old has been heavily linked with Chelmsford City, who play in the sixth tier of English football.

The National League South club have recently moved to become a full-time outfit as they bid to become an EFL side one day and talk of an an ambitious swoop for Carroll led to the Non League Paper asking manager Angelo Harrop, who was coy about speculation.

Andy Carroll joined Liverpool for a fee of £35 million in 2011. Image: Getty

"No comment," Harrop said.

"I am really happy with what we've got in. We've got real quality, a lot of youth, a lot of players really hungry, which is great. They're all good ages as well.

"We believe there is a lot of development in all those players we've signed and that's the DNA we're going to go with. We've got some young players who have played a lot of games already.

"My only worry for us is, we've got a brand new squad so we've got to knit together very quickly, and we're probably only going to run with a maximum of 17 or 18 first team players."

Interestingly, Carroll's salary would likely not be a stumbling block as he was reportedly only earning €1614 per-month playing for Bordeaux and even went on record to say that it was costing him to play.

"To be honest, it's even costing me money to come and play for Bordeaux," he told RMC Sport

"But I'm playing football, and I am simply happy to be playing football. I want to be a part of this club's history.

"To be frank, it wasn't a question of money. In my career, it's never been a question of money."

Carroll, who scored 54 goals in 248 appearances in the Premier League, was capped nine times for England and featured at the 2012 European Championship tournament.

His last club in England was Reading, where he had a second spell with the Royals either side of a short period with West Bromwich Albion in the Championship.