Carroll double has West Ham's Bilic purring

London (AFP) – West Ham manager Slaven Bilic believes striker Andy Carroll could earn an England recall after he grabbed a brace in a 3-2 defeat by Italian champions Juventus on Sunday.

The 27-year-old former Newcastle and Liverpool marksman scored both with trademark headers and gave new England manager Sam Allardyce a timely reminder of his talents which has earned him nine caps so far.

“Andy made his mark, he is that kind of player,” said Bilic, who revealed he is on the brink of signing two new players thought to be Ghanaian star Andre Ayew from rivals Swansea and French fullback Arthur Masuaku from Greek outfit Olympiakos. 

“The goals were his typical goals and he proved once more that we are right when we are counting on him big time, because he is going to do those things. He’s a top-quality player.

Bilic, who steered the Hammers to a highly respectable seventh place in the Premier League last term, said Carroll, though, should not let his mind wander about getting an international recall. 

“My players shouldn’t dream about England because of a good season or a change of manager. They must play well for West Ham. But if Carroll plays like he did today there are not many players who can do that,” said the 47-year-old former Croatia national coach.

“It’s simple. If he stays away from injuries then he has a great chance to have a great season.”

Bilic’s remarks were echoed by his opposite number Juventus handler Massimiliano Allegri, who gave a debut to his record signing Gonzalo Higuain at West Ham’s splendid new ground The London Stadium, which hosted the athletics and opening and closing ceremonies at the 2012 Olympics.

“Carroll is a very good player, he can make a team very dangerous and he is very good in set-pieces,” said the Italian.