Newcastle United will not raise their £12m offer for Andy Carroll and insist it is up to Liverpool whether they want to keep an unhappy player they do not have a role for or grant him his wish to return to Tyneside.
Carroll is desperate to return to the club where he emerged as one of the best young centreforwards in the country and Newcastle would love to welcome him back.
But owner Mike Ashley is adamant Liverpool have to accept they vastly overpaid for the 23-year-old when they signed him for a British record £35m in January last year and that Newcastle’s offer reflects his proper market value.
Newcastle would like to initially sign Carroll on loan, with a view to a permanent move, but could be persuaded to pay the £12m in one lump now if Liverpool reopen negotiations.
Liverpool boss Brendan Rodgers would like Carroll’s future to be resolved as soon as possible so he has time to sign a replacement.
Carroll has been warned he will not be first-choice should he remain at Anfield as he does not fit into Rodgers’ preferred style of play.
That would potentially jeopardise his place in Roy Hodgson’s England squad, but the attempted brinkmanship has done little to strengthen Liverpool’s negotiating position.
Carroll has rejected a move to West Ham United, leaving the club he so badly wants to return to as the only one to have made an offer and with time running out, Rodgers must decide whether to take what he can or make the best of a bad situation.