Nabbed from another forum (rawk) Newcastle give Carroll way out Gary Jacob 1 minute ago Newcastle United are ready to end Andy Carroll’s torrid time with Liverpool to take him back to Tyneside, The Times can reveal. The England forward became the most expensive British player and the eighth most expensive in football history when he left the North East and moved to Anfield for £35 million almost a year ago. He has seemingly suffered a crisis of confidence since, though, scoring only four Barclays Premier League goals for his new club. The Times has learnt that Newcastle are willing to pay about £15 million for Carroll, who almost quadrupled his wage to £80,000 a week when he signed his 5½-year contract at Anfield, but the Tyneside club believe that Liverpool’s valuation could be closer to £25 million. While Liverpool have denied that formal talks about a transfer have taken place and have claimed that they are not seeking to sell their record signing, they could be open to a deal if they are able to recoup a significant amount of their outlay. Carroll, 23, is expected to start against Manchester City in the Carling Cup semi-final, first leg tonight, although he has been unable to shake off questions about his fitness and form during the campaign. He has started only 11 of his 18 league games this season, scoring twice, and struck his first goal in 11 games against Oldham Athletic in the FA Cup third round on Friday. However, his sale would leave Liverpool possibly needing to buy a striker because Luis Suárez is two games into an eight-match suspension handed out by the FA after the Uruguay forward was found guilty of racially abusing Patrice Evra, the Manchester United defender. Only Suárez and Craig Bellamy, also a forward, have scored more than two goals in a tally of 24 league strikes for Liverpool this season. Kenny Dalglish has persistently supported Carroll and denied that the striker has been unable to live up to his price tag or that his lifestyle and his trips to visit family and friends in Tyneside has contributed to his playing record this term. The Liverpool manager has maintained that Carroll’s slow start is because of thigh and knee injuries, which disrupted his first season at the club. However a player of his physique and heading ability requires assistance from the wings and Liverpool’s style has appeared at odds with his game. He scored 11 goals in 19 appearances for Newcastle last season and had been playing Premier League football for only five months when he was signed to replace Fernando Torres, the Spain forward, whose £50 million move to Chelsea has also not worked out. After making his England debut last season, Carroll seemed destined for a place in the European Championship finals this summer, but he has lost his place in the pecking order and Fabio Capello has cast aspersions on the player’s level of alcohol intake. While Carroll has struggled on Merseyside, Demba Ba has excelled for Newcastle and attracted interest from other clubs because of a £7 million buy-out clause, which, it is said, can be exercised only from this summer. The Senegal forward has scored 15 goals this season after signing on a free transfer in the summer, when he exploited a relegation clause in his contract at West Ham United, for whom he had scored seven times since his move from Hoffenheim a year ago. Harry Redknapp, the Tottenham Hotspur manager, said yesterday that he was among those kicking themselves for not signing him at the end of last season. Newcastle also face interest from Manchester United in Cheik Tioté, the midfield player who cost about £3.5 million, although a deal would be unlikely until the summer. My link
