'Savior' - Ex West Ham and Newcastle United £15m bagsman becomes cult hero in fourth tier debut

Former West Ham and Newcastle United striker Andy Carroll has taken no time to earn himself cult hero status at fourth tier French side Bordeaux after an unforgettable debut over the weekend.

The 35-year-old was playing for Amiens in the second tier of French football last season but completed a move to the fourth division to sign for Bordeaux earlier this month. The former Ligue 1 side has been blighted by financial issues and plummeted down the football leagues across the Channel.

Bordeaux have won Ligue 1 six times in their history but are enduring a rocky time with bankruptcy. The signing of Carroll was a moment of excitement for the outfit and the former Premier League man already looks at home with his new club.

Bordeaux were 2-0 down against Voltigeurs de Chateaubriant at half-time on Saturday in front of their home crowd. However, Carroll turned the game on its head in the second half with a brace - the leveller coming in the 88th minute as he nodded home from a corner.

In videos from the match that circulated online, Carroll could be seen celebrating in front of barmy home fans as commentators labelled the goal 'so British'. French football account FreeFoot labelled the striker a 'saviour' for his heroics.

Speaking after the game, Carroll said: “I want to try and make history here. The crowd and the supporters were fantastic throughout the game, even though we were 2-0 down. I think they motivated us and kept us going. That’s probably how we came back.”

Carroll made 142 appearances for West Ham during his time at the club, scoring 34 goals and registering 16 assists. The forward initially arrived at the Hammers on loan from Liverpool in 2012 before the London outfit paid £15 million to make that move permanent 12 months later.

As with large parts of his career, Carroll's time at West Ham was ravaged by injury. His most successful Premier League campaign came during the 2015/16 season when he managed nine top flight goals - that included a memorable hat-trick in a 3-3 draw against Arsenal.

Carroll returned to his boyhood club of Newcastle United in 2019, where he stayed for two seasons. Then came a brief, but somewhat successful, Championship spell at West Brom in 2022 with three goals in 15 appearances. The striker then scored 11 goals in 42 appearances for Reading before heading to France.