West Ham United manager Sam Allardyce has revealed that the club may not opt to sign Andy Carroll on a permanent basis at the end of the season.

The England international is currently on loan at Upton Park from Liverpool but Allardyce has claimed that he is unsure of the 24-year-old's future.

"I know he's been short on goals and he's had a disrupted season but he'll only get better if he's got a settled future, whether that's with us or not [I don't know]," Allardyce told talkSPORT.

"It would be a long process though. We will have a conversation at the end of the season with Andy and Liverpool. It all depends on how he feels and what he does between now and the end of the season.

"It's also about where Andy thinks his future lies. He hasn't thought about that yet, he just wants to play as much as he can."

Carroll, who scored the winning goal against Swansea City at the weekend, has been linked with a return to Newcastle United in the summer.