Would you take Andy Carroll on loan?

Would you take him on loan? New Liverpool manager Brendan Rodgers has refused to quell speculation linking Andy Carroll with a loan move to AC Milan.

This will of course send media outlets into a frenzy linking Carroll with loan moves here, there and everywhere, including us, of that I have no doubt.

Carroll has struggled since joining Liverpool from Newcastle, but he did start to show a marked improvement in performance towards the tail end of last season and he showed glimpses of what he is capable of for England at EURO 2012. From an outside perspective, the difference between Newcastle's Andy Carroll and Liverpool's Andy Carroll is simply a question of supply - Liverpool, Steven Gerrard aside, seem unable to supply him with the balls that he likes to attack, and the problem is that I can't see that improving once Brendan Rodgers implements his tippy-tappy style of play.

Rodgers was asked what he would do if AC Milan did actually make an approach for the former Newcastle number nine, and this is what he had to say:

"It's something I would have to look at, I have to be honest. I'm not going to sit here and say I will never let anyone go on loan, then come in here in two weeks and a player's gone, and you're saying 'you said you wouldn't let them go."

"There are many things to going on loan. Is it going to be beneficial for the club, that's the most important thing? Sometimes a player going out on loan - in general, not just Andy - can benefit the club in the long term."

"It gets them game experience, and they come back a better player, a more confident one. Certainly more so than if they've been sitting on the bench for the majority of the season."

"Andy's always going to be linked with clubs, whether he was here or not. I have spoken to him on his holidays, he knows exactly where he stands, but I have had no inquiries."

I think you know where I'm going to go with this. Would you take Carroll back on a season long loan deal?

Personally I wouldn't, except in one circumstance which I will explain later. The reason I wouldn't take him back? It's not because of anything that has gone on previously, it's not the notion that he gave up his Geordie passport when moving to Liverpool, nor the fact that he gave up what he said was his dream for some extra cash.

The only issue I have with it is that it would be a loan deal, and to me we've moved on from acquiring loan players unless there is a chance of a permanent deal at the end of it, which will never happen with Andy Carroll. So the option would be to take him, let him try and find form, then send him back to Liverpool a better player. No thanks...

The only viable reason for us taking him back on loan would be if we failed to get a striker in over the summer. It would help us out and give us a short term fix to a problem that, hopefully, won't exist anyway.

It'll never happen, but I'd be interest to see what people think, which is why I've added a poll so get voting!

[poll id="68"]