ANDY CARROLL must now decide if he wishes to join West Ham United on a permanent deal after a transfer fee with Liverpool was agreed.

No formal bid has been accepted by the Reds but they are prepared to offload the striker to the Hammers for £15m this summer.

The two clubs can only press ahead with the deal if Carroll decides his future lies in London with Sam Allardyce’s side and not at Anfield.

The England forward has spent the season on loan at West Ham and after an injury-hit first-half of the campaign, Carroll has flourished recently as the Upton Park club secured their Premier League status for another year.

Liverpool manager Brendan Rodgers has made it clear to Carroll where he stands in the pecking order of his strikers and says he would not be a regular starter should he choose to stay on Merseyside.

Selling Carroll would see the club recoup less than half of the £35m they paid Newcastle for his services in January 2011 but some of the money could free up funds to bolster Rodgers’ transfer kitty this summer.

Also, the Reds have little desire for the ex-Newcastle United man to be part of another loan deal next season.

Carroll bagged seven goals in his time with the Hammers and said how much he enjoyed his spell in East London.

West Ham, who paid £2m to have him for the campaign, have been delighted with Carroll and are ready to break their transfer record to have him back at the club for good.

However, they must convince the giant striker to give up on hopes of making it at Anfield.

On Sunday, Allardyce said: “If we can start with Andy Carroll that would be a great achievement for us as he can only get better and better.

“Then we build around that in terms of how we want to improve next year, with better quality.

“It is our target to make it a permanent situation.”