Amiens striker Andy Carroll admits he never wanted to leave Newcastle for Liverpool.

Carroll's 2011 move is now deadline day folklore, but he admits he actually didn't want the transfer to happen.

He recalled to L'Equipe: "From the moment Liverpool made this incredible bid on deadline day, I found myself in a helicopter, without really understanding why. As I was injured, I remember hoping to fail my medical."

But eventually Carroll saw the positives and added, "This helped me grow up by taking me out of my comfort zone. Because I knew nothing about life and football, apart from Newcastle."

On Amiens, he also said: "When my agent talked to me about Amiens for the first time, I said to him: 'Let's see how it looks'. I saw the town, the stadium, the facilities and I liked it.

"It's a different football from the one I knew in England, where you are asked to run and press until you can't take it anymore… Here, it's a little more tactical, I have to spend my energy only in certain situations."