Andy Carroll did not know his Liverpool teammates after transfer to Anfield

West ham striker Andy Carroll has revealed that he did not want to leave Newcastle to move to Anfield in the January of 2011 and he had to Google the Liverpool players as he did not know his teammates barring Steven Gerrard. The England international survived a torrid time in Merseyside before moving to West Ham on a permanent deal in 2013 and is finding his best form only recently.

He got into the England squad on his form and was also part of the England squad travelling to the 2012 Euros. He scored a landmark header against Sweden in the tournament but a series of injuries and bad form saw him drop out of the England squad and is still waiting for a look-in ever since.

Carroll has scored five goals in only 10 appearances in the league and leading West Ham's comeback after a horrendous start to the campaign for Slaven Bilic's men. The striker struggled for a starting spot under Brendan Rodgers and was eventually loaned out to the Hammers, who signed him on a permanent deal the next season.

"When I was leaving Newcastle for Liverpool, I was in the helicopter on the way down and I had to go to Google to find out who their players were, looking on the phone. I was signing (for a British record £35million) and I didn't know who my team-mates would be!" Carroll told the Daily Mail.

"I knew Stevie and some of the others but not all of them. And I loved it at Newcastle. I wasn't ready to leave. It came as a shock. I'd had a season ticket, it was my club and it was a shock to move. I was 22. I could never get a grip at Liverpool."

The Hammers play Manchester City on Tuesday, 31 January and Carroll will be looking to take the shaky City defence to task with his physical presence up front. West Ham have won five of their last seven games in the league and are looking to stage a comeback after a major tussle with Dimitri Payet, who forced his way to Marseille in the winter transfer window.