Newcastle United 2006–07 Carroll, an occasional scorer in
Newcastle United's
reserve team, signed his first professional contract with the club in July 2006. He made his first-team debut on 2 November 2006 at the age of 17 years and 300 days in a 1–0
UEFA Cup win over
Palermo, coming on as a late
substitute for
Nolberto Solano. In doing so, he became the youngest ever player to represent Newcastle. He made his
FA Cup debut on 17 January 2007, appearing as substitute for the last ten minutes in the 5–1 home defeat by
Birmingham City. On 25 February 2007, Carroll made his
Premier League debut for Newcastle, coming on as a substitute in the 87th minute in the 1–0 defeat by
Wigan Athletic, almost scoring in the process; only a good save from Wigan
goalkeeper John Filan prevented him from scoring his first Newcastle goal. In 2007, he was the recipient of the Wor Jackie Milburn Trophy, awarded every year to the rising star of
North-East football, chosen amongst current Newcastle players.
2007–08 On 29 July 2007, Carroll scored his first senior goal with a left-foot shot in a 2–0 win over
Juventus in a friendly match. After the match, Carroll received praise from Italian goalkeeper
Gianluigi Buffon, who tipped Carroll to have a big future. On 14 August 2007, Carroll began a six-month
loan with
Preston North End, and made his debut for them in the League Cup against
Morecambe on the same day. Carroll received his first red card of his professional career playing for Preston against
Scunthorpe United on 18 September. He scored his first Championship goal, and his first English league goal, against
Leicester City on 6 November.
2008–09 Carroll made his first appearance for Newcastle in the 2008–09 season on 20 October, coming on as a substitute for
Shola Ameobi at home to
Manchester City. Carroll scored his first competitive goal for Newcastle on his first ever home start with a header against
West Ham United in a 2–2 draw on 10 January 2009. He signed a new three-and-a-half-year contract on 12 March 2009, in theory keeping him at Newcastle until 2012.
2009–10 in 2010 Following Newcastle's relegation, and the departures of first-team strikers,
Michael Owen,
Mark Viduka and
Obafemi Martins, Carroll was paired with Shola Ameobi in attack for Newcastle at the start of the new season. His first league goal in the Championship came on 16 September 2009 against
Blackpool with a header. By 2010, Carroll was playing almost every match, in a new strike partnership with
Peter Løvenkrands. This partnership accounted for more than half of the club's goals in 2010. Carroll finished the season as Newcastle's top scorer, with 19 goals in all competitions, 17 in the league. Carroll scored his first career
hat-trick against
Aston Villa in their 6–0 win in the Premier League on 22 August 2010. Carroll captained Newcastle for the first time on 3 October 2010 when he came on as a substitute for
Kevin Nolan against Manchester City. In October 2010, Carroll signed a new five-year contract, on paper keeping him at the club until 2015. Carroll scored Newcastle's third in a 3–1 victory over
Liverpool at
St James' Park on 11 December 2010, with a low 25-yard drive.
Liverpool 2010–11 On 31 January 2011, Liverpool placed a bid of £30 million for Carroll, which was rejected. Newcastle then accepted a bid of £35 million and, following the agreement of personal terms and a medical, the transfer was completed shortly before the 11:00 pm deadline. Carroll insisted he was forced out of Newcastle, but United said he had submitted a transfer request after they turned down Liverpool's £30 million bid. Liverpool confirmed that Carroll would wear the number 9 jersey previously worn by
Fernando Torres, who left
Anfield for
Chelsea on the same evening for £50 million. The transfer made Carroll the
eighth overall most expensive footballer at the time, and also the most expensive British footballer at the time. He also became the second most expensive footballer playing for a British club, after Torres. However, due to an injury he sustained while with Newcastle, it was announced that Carroll would have to wait some time before his Liverpool debut. Carroll finally made his Liverpool debut as a substitute in the 3–1 win against
Manchester United on 6 March 2011. On 10 March, he appeared in his first European match for Liverpool in a 1–0 loss at
Braga in the
UEFA Europa League, appearing as a substitute after half-time. In the return leg a week later, he made his first Liverpool start, although the match finished 0–0, leading to Liverpool going out of the competition losing 1–0 on aggregate. On 20 March, he made his first Premier League start for Liverpool at the
Stadium of Light in a 2–0 victory against
Sunderland. On 11 April, Carroll scored his first goals for Liverpool in a 3–0 victory against Manchester City at Anfield, scoring his first with a long-range strike and his second with a header.
2011–12 in 2011 On 24 August 2011, he scored his first goal of the new season with a 20-yard drive against
Exeter City to make the score 3–0 in the second round of the
League Cup. On 1 October 2011, he scored his first league goal of the
2011–12 season during a 2–0 victory over
Everton at
Goodison Park. His third goal of the season came in a 2–0 win away at
West Bromwich Albion. He scored his first goal of 2012 in a 5–1 third-round FA Cup victory against
Oldham Athletic. He would go on to create the
Dirk Kuyt goal that would secure victory in the 88th minute over Manchester United in the fourth round of the FA Cup on 28 January, before marking the first anniversary of his signing with Liverpool with his fifth goal of the season in a 3–0 victory away at
Wolverhampton Wanderers on 31 January. He later scored, and set up teammate
Luis Suárez, during Liverpool's 6–1 thrashing of
Brighton & Hove Albion in the fifth round of the FA Cup. On 26 February, he won his first trophy with Liverpool as they won the
League Cup, beating
Cardiff City in the
final. On 10 April, he headed an injury-time winner against
Blackburn Rovers to end Liverpool's run of four matches without a win. Four days later, he headed in another late winner, this time in a 2–1 victory against Everton in the
FA Cup semi-final at
Wembley, to take Liverpool through to the
final on his 50th appearance for Liverpool. Carroll described his match-winning goal as "the best feeling ever", with teammate
Jamie Carragher saying the goal was "worth £35 million in itself" and that Carroll would "be remembered forever".
West Ham United 2012–13 in 2012 On 30 August 2012, it was agreed that Carroll would spend the
2012–13 season on loan to fellow Premier League club West Ham United, who were newly promoted to the division at the time. Liverpool initially wanted a £17 million option for a permanent transfer written into the loan deal, but dropped the demand to facilitate the deal, and West Ham ultimately paid a £2 million loan arrangement fee and also all of Carroll's £80,000-a-week Liverpool wages. Carroll made his debut on 1 September, setting-up two goals in a 3–0 home win against
Fulham. He scored his first goal on 25 November 2012 in a 3–1 away defeat against
Tottenham Hotspur. After making his first start since November due to injury, Carroll scored the only goal in a home win against
Swansea City on 2 February 2013. Carroll ended the loan spell with seven goals in 24 appearances.
2013–14 On 21 May 2013, West Ham and Liverpool agreed a fee of around £15 million to make the loan move permanent, pending Carroll agreeing to the move, and then to personal terms. Carroll started the
2013–14 season injured with a heel problem picked up in the final match of the previous season. He made his first appearance of the season on 12 January 2014, as a substitute in the 72nd minute of a 2–0 victory over Cardiff, assisting
Mark Noble for West Ham's second goal. On 31 March, he was named
man of the match by
Sky Sports for his performance in a 2–1 win against Sunderland at the Stadium of Light in which he scored one and assisted the other of the Hammers' goals. Carroll ended the
2013–14 Premier League season with two goals from 18 appearances. Carroll returned to the team on 8 November 2014, coming on as a substitute for Mark Noble in a 0–0 home draw with Aston Villa. On 7 December 2014, he scored his first two goals of the season against Swansea in a 3–1 home win; these were also his first goals scored at Upton Park since March 2013. On 20 December, Carroll scored the 50th league goal of his career in West Ham's 2–0 defeat of Leicester. From December 2014 to January 2015, he went on a run of five goals in eight league appearances. On 11 February 2015, Carroll was substituted in the second half of a 0–0 draw against
Southampton with a tear in his medial ligament on the side of his knee. Two days later, West Ham's website announced Carroll was set to have surgery the following week and that he expected to miss the remainder of the 2014–15 season. He did not play again after February and made only 14 league appearances in the 2014–15 season, scoring five goals; three against Swansea City and one each against
Hull City and Leicester. On 24 October, Carroll scored his first goal in nine months, coming on as a substitute and heading in
Aaron Cresswell's cross to defeat champions Chelsea 2–1 in a
Premier League fixture at
Upton Park. Following several goalless matches, Carroll suffered a groin injury while training for West Ham's 7 December match against Swansea, sidelining him for several weeks. He returned to action as a half-time substitute in a 2–1 win against Southampton. Carroll scored the winning goal via header after a shot from
Michail Antonio had rebounded off of the crossbar. This marked Carroll's first goal since the match against Chelsea, and just his third of the year. On 9 April, Carroll scored his first hat-trick with West Ham, in a 3–3 draw against
Arsenal. On 20 April, Carroll scored in his third consecutive Premier League match for the first time in his career as West Ham beat
Watford 3–1 at the Boleyn Ground.
2016–17 Carroll played the full 90 minutes in West Ham's 2–1 defeat against Chelsea in the first match of the season, on 15 August. On 18 August, Carroll came on at the 63rd minute in a 1–1 draw against
Astra Giurgiu in the first leg of the
Europa League playoffs, and sustained a knee injury. While initial estimates put his recovery time at six weeks, it saw him sidelined for over three months. On 3 December, he returned to action, scoring as a 73rd-minute substitute in a 1–5 home loss against Arsenal. On 14 January 2017, Carroll scored what he admitted to be "the best goal I've scored" with a
bicycle kick in a 3–0 win against Crystal Palace at
London Stadium. The goal was named Goal of the Month for January by the Premier League on 10 February. On 1 April, Carroll scored the 50th Premier League goal of his career in a 2–1 loss at Hull City,
captaining West Ham for the first time.
2018–19 Carroll played only 14 games in the 2018–19 season, scoring just one goal in the FA Cup, before being ruled out in April 2019 for the remainder of the season following ankle surgery. He was released by West Ham at the end of the 2018–19 season.
Return to Newcastle United Carroll re-signed for Premier League club Newcastle United on 8 August 2019, signing a one-year contract. He made his return debut on 21 September as a substitute for
Jetro Willems in the 82nd minute of a 0–0 draw at home to
Brighton & Hove Albion. In June 2020, Carroll agreed a one-year extension to his contract. On 3 January 2021, Carroll scored his first goal for the Magpies since his return to the club in a 1–2 home league defeat by
Leicester City. He left Newcastle in July 2021 after spending two seasons at the club.
Reading On 15 November 2021,
Reading announced the signing of Carroll on a short-term contract until mid-January 2022. He made his Reading debut on 20 November in a 1–1 draw with
Nottingham Forest coming on as a 61st minute substitute for
Liam Moore and playing a role in the build-up to their second-half equaliser from
Scott Dann. He scored his first goal for the club on 27 November in a 3–2 win against
Swansea City. Following a 2–1 away defeat to
Middlesbrough on 15 January 2022, in which Carroll scored his second goal for Reading, his contract with the club ended.
West Bromwich Albion On 28 January 2022,
West Bromwich Albion announced the signing of Carroll on a short-term contract until the end of the season. He made his debut the following day in a 2–0 away defeat against
Millwall. On 12 March 2022, Carroll scored his first goal for the club netting the equaliser in the 85th minute during a 2–2 home draw against
Huddersfield Town. On 30 April 2022, it was reported that Carroll would leave Albion at the end of the season.
Return to Reading On 15 September 2022, Carroll returned to
Reading, signing a four-month contract with the club, until the middle of January 2023 and taking the vacant number two squad number in the process. On 10 January 2023, Carroll signed a contract extension with the Royals, keeping him at the club until mid 2024. On 31 August 2023, Carroll left Reading after triggering a release clause in his contract.
Amiens On 1 September 2023, Carroll joined
Ligue 2 club
Amiens. He made his debut on 3 September coming on as a substitute in the 66th minute, replacing
Abdoul Tapsoba as Amiens won 4–1 against
Guingamp, moving them to second in the league.
Bordeaux On 18 September 2024, Carroll left Amiens to join
Championnat National 2 club
Bordeaux. He scored twice on his debut for the club in a 2–2 draw against
Voltigeurs de Châteaubriant. He left the club after one season as wanted to be "closer to his children".
Dagenham & Redbridge In July 2025, Carroll signed for
National League South club
Dagenham & Redbridge on a three-year contract. He said of the move, "It doesn't matter the level, or anything, as long as I get on the pitch and play football, that's all that matters". Carroll was also announced as a minority shareholder in the club on the same day as the purchase of Dagenham & Redbridge by
Qatari private investors. On 18 March 2026, Carroll was confirmed as interim manager of the club following the sacking of
Lee Bradbury. ==International career==