AC Milan Have Not Approached Liverpool About Andy Carroll

Despite reports in the Italian media that AC Milan was interested in Andy Carroll and Silvio Berlusconi's son saying he'd like to bring the striker to Italy, Brendan Rodgers today insisted that Liverpool have had no contact from the Serie A side concerning the young striker.

Rodgers sounded rather lukewarm today when talking about Carroll's place at Liverpool, suggesting he will need to wait until he's seen him in preseason to fully judge his value to the club. Placed next to earlier unequivocal praise for players like Luis Suarez and Steven Gerrard, it would be easy to assume that Rodgers doesn't see Carroll as a key component moving forward. However, given his age and that he only began to develop into the striker most hoped the club were buying towards the end of last season, it's hardly a massive shock that Rodgers would want to wait to make a final judgement until he sees Carroll first-hand when the striker returns to Liverpool following his summer break.

Instead, the most important part of Rodgers' comments about Carroll come when he reveals that despite the recent talk out of Italy, AC Milan have in fact had no contact with Liverpool concerning the player:

He's a good player, Andy, so he'll always be linked whether he's here or not. It's something I've spoken to him about while he's on his holidays, so he knows exactly where he stands. He's a very good young player, and he'll be linked to clubs like that because he's such a good young player, but I haven't heard anything from [AC Milan] about him.

Whether Carroll has a future at Brendan Rodgers' Liverpool may remain an open question. What seems far more certain is that a move to Milan isn't currently in the works, which in fact seemed the most likely reality all along given suggestions the Italian club would be seeking to loan the player rather than make an outright purchase, suggestions that never passed the smell test given Carroll's age, relatively low wages, and that Milan previously burned Liverpool badly with their loan deal for Alberto Aquilani.