Carroll four-ces Hammers cull

WEST HAM have put nearly £12million worth of talent up for sale to bankroll their record signing Andy Carroll.

Ricardo Vaz Te, Modibo Maiga, Matt Taylor and Alou Diarra are all up for grabs to offset a potential £55m investment in England hitman Carroll.

Former Bolton striker Vaz Te is the biggest casualty of the cull.

His winning goal in the 2012 play-off final against Blackpool took West Ham back to the Premier League.

But the Portuguese ace, 26, struggled in the top flight and Hammers want £3.5m for him. Winger Taylor, 31, who is rated at £1.5m, has told boss Sam Allardyce he wants out as he is fed up of being a sub.

Maiga cost the Hammers £4.7m from Sochaux last July, but the striker, 25, has failed to get regular starts.

French midfielder Diarra, 31, spent the second half of last season on loan in his homeland at Rennes and is not keen to on returning.

West Ham paid Liverpool a club-record £16m for Carroll, plus add-ons, in an initial six-year deal.

Incoming financial rules mean the payroll must not exceed £52m a season, so West Ham must trim the wage bill to accommodate his £100,000-a-week wages.

Winger Gary O’Neil and striker Carlton Cole were released last month.

Carroll, 24, is eager to get going and is already eyeing an England recall.

He said: “I want to keep fit, score goals and perform every week.

“If I do that hopefully I will get into the England team.”