Sunday Times
Man City reject Carroll-Tevez swap deal

Jonathan Northcroft
Published: 29 January 2012

Andy Carroll, whose outstanding performance helped Liverpool beat Manchester United in yesterday’s fractious FA Cup derby, was offered to Manchester City last week in a straight exchange for Carlos Tevez.

The astounding swap deal was rejected immediately by City as the Premier League leaders stuck to their position of only considering letting Tevez go for a transfer fee — with €30m (£25.2m) their asking price. Last night Liverpool categorically denied any such offer was made by their club officially and restated their confidence in Carroll as a player.

Who made the offer on Liverpool’s behalf is not yet known but it was taken seriously by City. If genuine, and City believe it was, the offer raises questions over Carroll’s future at Anfield. The striker, signed for £35m last January, had a hand in both Liverpool’s goals in a 2-1 defeat of United but he has scored just six times in 36 appearances for the Merseyside club and failed to establish an understanding with the team’s leading forward, Luis Suarez, unavailable for yesterday’s derby because of his eight- match ban for racially insulting United’s Patrice Evra in October. Evra was barracked throughout yesterday’s match.

Carroll was praised by Kenny Dalglish, his manager, for a dominant display against Jonny Evans and Chris Smalling, United’s centre-backs, and David De Gea, who made yet another goalkeeping gaffe. “He is good in the air but we have to develop that, he has to develop it. We will work with him and we will be a lot more patient than a lot of people,” Dalglish said. Some of Liverpool’s Premier League rivals believe that the manager’s enthusiasm is not shared by every decision-maker at Anfield.

Meanwhile, Tevez could face another gross misconduct charge and a further club fine of £1.2m. On December 22 he was fined for going to Argentina without permission and he has until Tuesday to decide whether to appeal against that punishment to the Premier League.