Brendan Rodgers can't make up his mind

Via ESPNFC-Brendan Rodgers has said he would "need to be nutcase" in order to let £35 million striker Andy Carroll leave Liverpool on loan.

In what appears an about-face on remarks made earlier in the summer as speculation over Caroll's future intensified, the Anfield manager said his squad was not deep enough to allow the 23-year-old to go without generating funds to sign a replacement.

He hit out at Newcastle - who sold Carroll to Liverpool in January 2011 - saying they would be taking "a liberty" if they tried to bring the England striker back to the North-East in a loan deal.

"There is absolutely no chance [of a loan deal] - and certainly not Newcastle,'' Rodgers was quoted as saying in the Guardian. "Newcastle got £35 million for this player last year. To even consider wanting to take him on loan is a liberty, really.

"We have got a very small squad as it is. We have lost a lot of players this summer, and I have not replaced them as of yet. That is the reality of where we are."

Rodgers said he needed a minimum of three strikers - which he has in Carroll, Luis Suarez and new arrival Fabio Borini - and said: "I would need to be a nutcase even to consider at this moment to let Carroll go out, unless there are other solutions for that."

In July, the Liverpool manager had suggested he would be open to the possibility of a loan deal for Carroll, with both West Ham and Newcastle expressing an interest in signing him.

But the Magpies' proposal - thought to be an initial loan move with a view to a potential £12 million permanent switch - has riled the Liverpool manager, while the player rejected the idea of a move to Upton Park.

Carroll, who was on the bench as the Merseysiders crashed to a 3-0 defeat at West Brom on the Premier League's opening day, is in line to start Thursday night's Europa League game at Hearts.

"He is due to start but he has felt a slight twinge, so we have had it looked at and scanned," Rodgers explained. "We will see what his response is. If he is available and then fit, he will start."

He said there had been no further developments in Manchester City's pursuit of central defender Daniel Agger, for whom the champions are reportedly ready to pay around £20 million.

"I can't see anything [happening] at this stage, to be honest," he said. "Like every player in the group, if someone comes in with a big, big offer then that might be out of my hands in relation to the club and where it is at with finances."


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