By Danny Wright

23rd Sep, 2017 | 7:28am

Slaven Bilic makes big admission about handing West Ham 28-year-old new contract

By Danny Wright

West Ham manager Slaven Bilic has admitted that he has doubts about handing Andy Carroll a new contract at the London Stadium due to his on-going injury problems.

Carroll, 28, has been in and out of the Hammers first-team squad ever since he signed for £15million from Liverpool in 2012, and last season saw the striker spend most of his time on the sidelines.

He made 22 appearances across all competitions last term as he suffered with three different spells in the treatment room due to knee and groin issues.

Now, Bilic has made it clear that Carroll has to prove his fitness to him this season, otherwise he may be shown the exit door when his current deal expires in the summer of 2019.

“He’s got two years and this is, to be fair, his season to be fit, to stay fit,” said the Irons boss, as quoted by Sky Sports.

“Because if we are talking about his contract, the question mark about him is his fitness, about how much he is available during the season.”

Carroll returned from his latest spell on the sidelines in the win against Huddersfield earlier this month and has since appeared against West Brom.

In his two appearances this season, the ex-Newcastle striker is yet to find the net, but Jamie Redknapp has now backed him to be the danger man when West Ham welcome Tottenham to the London Stadium on Saturday.

Carroll is expected to start that match as the focal point of attack next to Javier Hernandez, who has been forced to play on the wing in recent fixtures.

In other West Ham news, the Irons have jetted out on a transfer mission to keep tabs on this Italy international.

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