The striker has won plaudits around Upton Park for the way he has battled back from injury to lead the line so impressively in recent weeks for Sam Allardyce’s men

West Ham co-owner David Sullivan is determined to conclude a summer deal for on-loan Liverpool striker Andy Carroll.
The Hammers are hopeful of securing a deal for the target-man but may have to see off interest from Tottenham and Newcastle, however, who have both reportedly registered their interest in signing the striker that cost £35 million when moving from the Magpies to Liverpool in January 2011.

Carroll has impressed during his season-long stay at Upton Park, despite suffering niggling knee and hamstring injuries, and has convinced the likes of Sullivan that a deal would be in the club’s best interests having fired seven goals for a club on course for a top-half finish.

Sullivan told reporters: “We would love to keep him beyond this season and we will soon be sitting down with Andy and ­Liverpool to make some progress on that front.

“Andy has battled back from injury twice to put in a series of tireless shifts for the team. His game is about so much more than just scoring goals.

“He is so often the focal point of ­everything good we do going forward.”

Goal.com exclusively revealed that the 24-year-old will snub a move to the Hammers this summer, as he wants to stay and fight for his future on Merseyside but West Ham have apparently not been dissuaded from a move.

The January arrival has scored eight goals in his opening 14 Premier League games for the club, but is now keen to add to his three assists and help out his team-mates’ return

Liverpool striker Daniel Sturridge says extra focus on aiding his new team-mates relieved pressure on himself to score after joining the club in January.

The 23-year-old notched in each of his opening three games after completing a £12 million [€14.2m] move to Anfield, only to then score just twice in his next eight appearances

But, Sturridge has also laid on three goals for his team-mates – including in the 2-2 draw with former club Chelsea and the recent 6-0 thrashing of Newcastle – and the England international is happy with his output for the club.

“It’s great to score goals but the main factor when I joined the club was just to help Liverpool move forward,” Sturridge told Sky Sports.

“I don’t want to put too much pressure on myself to score goals because that’s the kind of person I am. I always put pressure on myself but I’ve stopped doing that so much now.

“I’ve just tried to focus on helping the team win games and to work as hard as I possibly can on the football field because if I do that then all the natural things that I do on the pitch will come out.

“So my mentality now is to ensure I am in tip-top shape and at my optimum best to be able to help the team.

“If I score goals along the way then fantastic, if I get assists fantastic, but the main thing is for the team to get positives results and for us to come out of the season on a high.”

With just two game weeks left to win a number of great prizes in the season-long competition, make sure you enter a team to improve your average in the table

The Goal.com Fantasy Football league has almost reached its conclusion, as well as giving an iPad away there are other prizes to be won including team shirts and free bets.

If you’ve entered the competition before then don’t forget to enter a team before kick-off in Saturday’s match between Aston Villa and Chelsea to be in with a chance of improving your score.

For anyone who is new to the game, there is still plenty to play for in the weekly free league, so there’s still time to get involved before the end of the season.

Who should I pick this week?

David de Gea has 11 clean sheets in Totel Football this season and with the visit of Swansea to Old Trafford he could be a shrewd inclusion. Michael Laudrup’s side haven’t been too impressive since winning the Capital One Cup and although they scored three against Wigan on Monday, breaching Manchester United’s defence will prove a much more testing challenge, especially without leading scorer Michu.

David Luiz

Although he’s classed as a defender by Totel Football, the Brazil international often plays in a midfield role for Rafael Benitez’s side and he’s been in fine goal-scoring form of late. Fifteen points against Fulham and nine against Swansea means he ranks in the top six defenders available when it comes to points per game average.

As a danger from free kicks and shooting from range making up for any defensive lapses, if Luiz finds the net against Villa, his goals will also score higher than other midfielders because of his classification as a defender.

Gareth Bale

If there’s one player who is the first name on the Fantasy Football team sheet it’s Gareth Bale. The Tottenham midfielder has been in sparkling form this season and averages over eight and a half points per game.

According to Totel Football that’s the highest tally of any player who’s played at least 10 games in the Premier League game this season.

Five assists added to 20 goals and Tottenham’s on-going battle to finish in the top four mean he’s a certainty for this week’s team.

Gabriel Agbonlahor

While his team-mate Christian Benteke is often a popular choice in Fantasy Football teams, it could be Gabriel Agbonlahor who boosts your points total this weekend.

Chelsea’s defence isn’t particularly solid on their travels and with seven of his nine Premier League goals this season being scored in his last 10 games, Agbonlahor is in fine form and if he can replicate his 13-point haul against Norwich, he could be the difference between a good finish and a great finish this weekend.

Anyone without a Totel Football account can sign up here