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Pardew encouraged by showdown talks with Carroll

Andy Carroll has been in exhilarating form for Newcastle © PA Photos

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Newcastle United boss Alan Pardew is adamant Andy Carroll will not be leaving St James' Park in January, insisting that clear-the-air talks on Christmas Day have left him in no doubt that his star striker wants to remain at the club.

Carroll has become a target for a host of clubs after a magnificent first half of the season. The 21-year-old has been in red-hot form, bagging 11 Premier League goals to help lift Newcastle up to ninth in the table.

With speculation mounting that a number of clubs, including Spurs, may move for the England international in January, Pardew has moved quickly to seek assurances from the player over his future.

"I spoke to him on Christmas Day about the speculation," he said. "He is fine with it. He understands he has got a lot of learning to do and I think the most important thing is he wants to play for Newcastle. I said to him: 'I do not want to talk for you. We are talking together. It is important you want to stay and if you do, that is great news for us.' Because we will make sure he stays.

"That was the case he put to me, and that is why I am so confident there will be no problem in January, and hopefully the summer, the January after that, the summer after that and so on!

"I have been fortunate enough to manage some very good strikers. I will just be giving Andy Carroll titbits what I have learnt from them, stuff that I think works well for him. He does a lot of things very, very well. That is why he is such a target for other managers. What he does do well, he does very, very well and if he can improve the other side to his game, link up play, movement, he is going to be a top top player."

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