Andy Carroll names who his 'best mate' at West Ham was | OneFootball

Andy Carroll made more appearances at West Ham than he did at any other club and revealed who his best mate was on Instagram

West Ham United weren't able to get the best out of Andy Carroll due to numerous injuries and other circumstances, but the 37-year-old still enjoyed a successful seven seasons with the Hammers.

The former England international moved to Upton Park on an initial loan spell in 2012 to try and get his career back on track following a slow 18 months at Liverpool, who made him a British record transfer back in January 2011, signing him from Newcastle United for £35 million.

He played more times for West Ham than he did any other club, but missed at least 11 games of each league campaign he spent there, playing fewer than 20 times in five of those seven Premier League years.

Nevertheless, he played a big part in the final year at the Boleyn Ground, including netting a hat-trick against Arsenal, and scored one of the best goals in Premier League history the following season against Crystal Palace, among other good memories in a West Ham shirt.

Andy Carroll reveals who he was closest with at West Ham

Action Images

Carroll now plays at sixth-tier side Dagenham and Redbridge, which he also co-owns with internet personality KSI. Last season, he scored six times in 12 National League South appearances.

On his Instagram on Wednesday, the 37-year-old did a small Q&A session, during which he was asked who his best mate was at West Ham.

Action Images

"I don't think this answer will surprise anyone," he said. "Kev[in] Nolan was my best mate at West Ham.

"We spent a lot of time on and off the pitch at Newcastle, and he was probably the reason why I did end up signing there."

Nolan had been at Upton Park for a year before Carroll arrived, helping the Hammers to promotion into the Premier League via the play-offs in the 2011/12 campaign — the last time the club played in the Championship before the upcoming season.

The towering frontman did admit that he had close relationships with a lot of others at Upton Park alongside Nolan, though, which will definitely make West Ham fans feel nostalgic.

"That doesn't mean I didn't have a lot of good friends at West Ham," Carroll continued. "Joey O'Brien, Winston Reid, Aaron Cresswell, Robert Snodgrass, James Collins tells a good story about us in pre-season once, and then obviously Mr West Ham, Mark Noble.

"I enjoyed my time at West Ham, but Kev Nolan was my best mate there."

Nolan and Carroll were quite the dynamic duo in the 2009/10 second tier campaign with Newcastle United, scoring 17 goals each en route to the title.

The two would spend three years together at Upton Park before Nolan's career started to wind down, playing just 14 times at Leyton Orient before retiring.

Action Images

West Ham's signing of Nolan ahead of the 2011/12 campaign was a major coup. The reported £4 million fee at the time was quite large for a Championship club, and the then-28-year-old was heading into the prime years of his career.

Indeed, the attacking midfielder had just scored 12 times in the Premier League for Newcastle upon their return the year prior, but the opportunity to reunite with former Bolton Wanderers boss Sam Allardyce and the immediate captaincy was too good to turn down.

Nolan obviously wouldn't have wanted to stick around in the Championship again for too long, and he scored 12 times and assisted a further six, plus scored in the play-off semi-finals against Cardiff City, to ensure it didn't happen.

14 years later, the Hammers are set to play their first second-tier match since that dramatic Wembley final against Blackpool when they travel to fellow recently-relegated side Burnley on August 16.

And, with Mateus Fernandes departing for £85 million to Tottenham Hotspur this summer, Nuno Espirito Santo's side are still looking for that creative midfielder to provide what Nolan did in the Championship all those years ago.

Perhaps West Ham will be able to tempt another top-flight star to play one year in the second tier with them. Either way, those at the London Stadium will hope they can have a similar impact to the one the 44-year-old did back at Upton Park.