Brendan Rodgers has scotched talk of Andy Carroll leaving Liverpool and says he has no knowledge of any bids for the player.
Liverpool youngsters please their manager with improved displays
Brendan Rodgers has played down talk of Andy Carroll leaving Liverpool and says he has no knowledge of any bids for the player.
The striker has been heavily tipped to leave Anfield this summer and has been the subject of reported interest from West Ham United.
Sky Sports revealed on Friday the Hammers had offered to take the former Newcastle striker on a season-long loan with a view to a £17million switch.
However, Rodgers appears to have given the £35m man some hope he still has a career at Anfield by claiming he was unaware of any bids for the centre-forward.
"Not that I am aware of," Rodgers told
Liverpool's official website when asked if there had been any offers for Carroll after using the England international as a substitute in Saturday's pre-season friendly against Tottenham in the USA.
Written
"Obviously, I'll know more when we get back. There has been a lot written about Andy, but you saw today he's happy to be here and he's worked very well since he's been here.
"The reality is he's still a Liverpool player, he can fit into how I want to play, and he's happy here.
"I'm certainly not wishing to push him out of the door."
Liverpool completed their tour of America with a goalless draw against Tottenham.
The tour has given new Anfield chief Rodgers an opportunity to see some of the younger players in his first-team squad, such as Raheem Sterling, Jonjo Shelvey, Adam Morgan, Peter Gulacsi, Jack Robinson and Dani Pacheco.
Talent
And he has been impressed with their performances, as he said: "I have been really, really pleased with them.
"That was one of the key things today - the development of the youngsters and how they've taken on the concept.
"If you look at Raheem Sterling over the last two weeks, he came as a young boy, 17 years old, and he only knew how to beat a defender - but if you look at today's game, he understood when to press and when to be inside.
"He was playing against an experienced player in Sebastien Bassong and he actually gave him a hard time.
"That's brilliant for me because it shows he's taken it on board. He's thinking about the game. If he does that, and you add that to his talent, he's going to be a very, very good player for the future."
