West Ham United boss Sam Allardyce admits they had to compromise to sign Liverpool striker Andy Carroll.

The Hammers landed the Geordie on deadline day.

Allardyce told Sky Sports: "We couldn't agree in the early stages with Liverpool on a deal for Andy, so it looked as if it wasn't going to happen - and then right at the very end there was an opportunity where he could leave and we struck that deal very quickly.

"There's an opportunity for Liverpool [to get him back in January] if they want to, but whether they do or they don't will be in a matter of time. If Andy's playing for us on a regular basis by then and that's the case, he'll have played a major part in keeping us in the league this year. In the end, the deal was structured to get the player however you could get him, from my point of view.

"This player is that big, in my opinion, for us this season, so you do whatever you can do to get the deal done."