A real shock: Reading's Carroll offer to Amiens

Former Liverpool, Newcastle United and West Ham United striker Andy Carroll made one of the surprise moves of the 2023 Summer Transfer Window when he joined Amiens SC in France.

His move to the Ligue 2 club was the first move abroad in his stellar career, which has included 54 goals in 248 Premier League appearances and nine caps for England.

And it was even a surprise for Amiens Sporting Director John Williams, who was pitched Carroll by Reading FC on TransferRoom, where over 700 clubs worldwide can connect directly, offer players to other clubs and see a club’s transfer market needs and financial expectations.

“Without TransferRoom there would have been no chance to make such a deal,” Williams said in the video below.

“I put on the platform that I was looking for a striker.

“Then Reading pitched the player and I saw ‘Andy Carroll’. I thought: ‘Oh, is there another Andy Carroll?’

“But it was the real one. I thought, ‘There’s something wrong here.’

To Williams’ shock and delight, there was nothing wrong at all and things moved quickly after a conversation with Reading’s recruitment team.

Williams said: “I thought he was going to ask for big money - no. Or a big transfer fee - no.

“I had a direct chat with Reading and we found a deal quickly.

“The player was really enthusiastic to come to France.

“It was an easy deal to do, an easy negotiation, because everybody was fair-minded about finding a solution.”

Signing a player of Carroll’s pedigree was a big coup for Amiens, and it’s had a big impact on the pitch and for the players around him.

Williams added: “It was massive asset for us, and for the media and fans. He has played so many games and has so much experience.

“On top of it, he’s a real leader. He’s helping our young players to develop.

“He’s a very positive guy in the changing room and on the pitch. So it was a perfect move for Amiens.”

Carroll’s move to France is the perfect demonstration of TransferRoom’s ability to connect clubs all over the world and give clubs with smaller budgets or scouting networks the opportunity to target the right players, expand their global reach and take their transfer business up a level.

Williams said: “To sign a player is a question of information: to know where a good player is. Is he available? How much is he?

“We have everything here on the platform. It was a really perfect situation.

“We would have had absolutely no chance to sign him if there was no TransferRoom.”

Williams was speaking at the TransferRoom Summit in Lisbon. It was also holding one-to-one transfer talks with Belgian club Royal Antwerp FC at a previous TR Summit at Chelsea FC in London that made Amiens' sale of George Ilenikhena at the age of 16 for €6.5m plus bonuses possible. Watch Williams tell the story here.