Andy Carroll is now the most expensive English player ever. But is he worth the money?

It’s certainly on the steep side, but if you asked me, I’d say it’s not really crazy money that Liverpool has just spent.

That’s because thanks to the likes of Manchester City, Real Madrid and Chelsea, the price of footballers has been going up consistently over the last few years. The market is as inflated as it’s ever been with more and more money being poured in by “generous” owners.

If you want to sign a top young player, it’s generally accepted that you’ll have to pay around 25 million pounds now. And if you want to sign a real top, top player like Ronaldo, Iniesta, Rooney, Ibrahimovic or Torres, it’ll have to be at least 50 million. That’s just he way it is now. I mean, Man City have been routinely signing players for around 25 million pounds!

When United signed players like Nani and Anderson, they cost a rumoured 17 million pounds each, and before them, Cristiano Ronaldo cost less than 13 million!

Secondly, you also have to bear in mind that Carroll was a desperate, last-minute buy in the January transfer window. Like so many managers have said in the past – it’s hard to find good value in January. Clubs just don’t want to lose their best players in mid-season, but if you insist, you’re gonna have to cough up the dough.

And Liverpool were desperate. They were lucky Lucas Leiva rose to the challenge of replacing Javier Mascherano so well (and even then his absence has been keenly felt), but they can’t possibly expect David Ngog to suddenly blossom into the next Torres, right? He needed to be replaced, and Newcastle had every right to demand that extra bit of cash.

Also, at 22, Andy Carroll is at a very good age. Paying 35 million for a player that can be the new focal point of your team for the next 10-15 years isn’t that bad.

I think generally, if you sign a player below 20, he’ll be a bit cheaper because there’s always that chance that he won’t fulfill his potential, and he might not be physically and mentally ready for regular first team action either.

But to bag someone at Carroll’s age, especially a player who’s already showed that he can handle the pressure of the Premier League, that’s gonna cost a little more.

A teenage Wayne Rooney cost 25 million pounds SEVEN years ago, so if you factor in inflation, and the fact that Carroll is at the stage of his career where he can walk in to a team and do a decent job (while Rooney was still a temperamental, immature kid when he was signed), again – 35 million pounds isn’t that crazy.