West Ham United face stiff competition for Liverpool striker Andy Carroll.

West Ham are set to open talks with Liverpool over a permanent move for loan striker Carroll - and hope to clinch a deal in the next few weeks, says the Mirror.

But Sam Allardyce's men could face a battle to bag the 24-year-old centre-forward from the Anfield giants, as he also interests Tottenham and his first club, Newcastle United.

Hammers co-owner David Sullivan said: "We would love to keep him beyond this season and we will soon be sitting down with Andy and ­Liverpool to make some progress on that front.

"Andy has battled back from injury twice to put in a series of tireless shifts for the team. His game is about so much more than just scoring goals.

"He is so often the focal point of ­everything good we do going forward."