West Ham United manager Sam Allardyce has told Sky Sports  that he will wait until the end of the season to decide on the future of forward Andy Carroll.

The day previously, West Ham chief executive David Sullivan claimed that an agreement had been reached to sign Carroll on a permanent basis in the summer.

However, Allardyce has thrown the transfer into doubt after revealing he is unsure whether the he wants to make the deal permanent.

England international Carroll, 24, has scored twice in an injury-plagued loan spell at Upton Park.

Agreement reached

Carroll, who joined Liverpool for £35 million from Newcastle, was shipped out on loan to West Ham after struggling to find form at Anfield.

The Newcastle-born forward netted his first goal for the club against Tottenham, and added his second with a header against Swansea on Saturday.

Allardyce claims that he does not know whether Carroll, a forward he rates highly, will be at the club next season.

‘I don’t know’

“I know he’s been short on goals and he’s had a disrupted season, but he’ll only get better if he’s got a settled future, whether that’s with us or not [I don't know].”

Carroll has been linked with former club Newcastle, who may be interested in signing the forward when his loan spell at the Hammers expires.

West Ham have looked to resolve their striker deficit by loaning in Carroll, Arsenal forward Marouane Chamakh and Cruzeiro’s Wellington Paulista to assist first choice forward Carlton Cole.

Allardyce would be keen to retain the former; he told talkSPORT: ”You always want a top class centre forward.

“There are not many of Andy Carroll’s type. The sad thing for football is that it now seems unfashionable to have a big centre forward in your team, which really disappoints me.”