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Pardew wants Carroll back at Newcastle

Andy Carroll was a hero on Tyneside before his departure to Liverpool © PA Photos

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Newcastle manager Alan Pardew has outlined his desire to bring Andy Carroll back to St James' Park, having failed to negotiate a deal for the striker during the summer.

Fans of the Magpies were furious when Carroll joined Liverpool in a deal worth £35 million on the last day of the January transfer window in 2011 - despite assurances from Pardew that the forward would be staying on Tyneside.

The fortunes of Newcastle and Carroll have differed greatly since then, with the striker failing to settle at Liverpool while his former club finished fifth in the Premier League last season, their highest placing in eight years.

The England international's struggle for form did not deter Pardew from making a bid to bring him back to St James' Park during the summer, and though the transfer failed to materialise, Newcastle's boss is ready to launch a new bid if Liverpool are prepared to sell.

"He's a Liverpool player and not wanted so at some point he's going to move permanently," Pardew said. "I'd like to think we'll be in the mix for that."

"Big Andy hopefully one day will want to come back and certainly I'd like to have [him] in my squad now because we would be stronger for it. But obviously finances restrict me from doing that."

Carroll's £35 million departure paved the way for Newcastle to purchase players such as Demba Ba and Papiss Cisse, and Pardew believes his team have reaped the rewards of the "astronomical" transfer fee.

"The position we are in, if I'm honest, is because we used the money from Andy's sale well," Pardew said ahead of Carroll's return to St James' Park with the Hammers this Sunday. "He was a brilliant player for us, but the fee was astronomical. We have used it well and we owe a great debt to him."

This Sunday also sees former Newcastle team-mate Kevin Nolan back at his old club, the first time he has returned to Tyneside since leaving for West Ham five months after Carroll departed for Liverpool, following the break down of contract negotiations. Pardew was keen to praise the pair, revealing that he enjoyed working with them and that they would be welcome additions to the current Magpies squad.

"It's nice to see Kevin come back. He did a super job here. Whatever he was asked to do, he conducted himself well. And he gets a goal. He has proven that at any level, he will get a goal," Pardew said. "I'm looking forward to seeing them both and I enjoyed working with them. There will be a lot on the game. Kevin will be determined to get a result, as will Andy and the manager coming back."

"Both of those players would be good additions to this squad, but players have to move on for the sake of the team. That's the Andy Carroll one."

He went onto add: "Kevin was a bit different, he wanted a long contract we wouldn't commit to, but he got one at West Ham." He deserves it because he is a great player, but the board didn't think the long contract for Kevin was something he would get here."

Meanwhile, West Ham manager Sam Allardyce has dismissed the idea that he may still hold animosity towards Newcastle after he was sacked as manager in 2008.

"There is no extra edge going back for me," Allardyce said. "Those days for me have long gone. Since then, time has drifted by and I have no animosity towards Newcastle United at all."

"I played them when I got the Blackburn job and Newcastle came to Blackburn. And after that, of course, they got relegated and I didn't meet them again until the year after when we went up to Newcastle and played then for Blackburn."

"The next time they came back I had been sacked. It is all gone. There has been a lot of water under the bridge since then. Obviously it is far more important for Kevin and Andy than it is for me."

Allardyce, who described the their contribution to Newcastle as 'brilliant' - also revealed that neither wanted to leave Newcastle, but were forced to.

He went onto add: "Those two players served Newcastle brilliantly before they left. Two outstanding players for their club. And they will obviously want to do very, very well.

"I suppose it is up to the Newcastle fans whether they appreciate what they did for Newcastle before they left. I don't suppose either of them really wanted to leave. The circumstances were that they had to leave - but not because they wanted to."

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