Steve Bruce relishes having ‘local hero’ Andy Carroll back at Newcastle
Eight years after departing Newcastle in a January deadline-day transfer Andy Carroll has returned in another 11thhour move the club hope may pacify the militant element of their fanbase. The 30-year-old striker was a free agent after being released by West Ham and has accepted a one-year contract offering a low basic wage supplemented by appearance and goal bonuses.
Although Carroll is still recovering from ankle surgery in April he passed a medical and Steve Bruce hopes to be able to involve him in a first-team game before next month’s international break. Given Carroll’s injury record a significant risk is involved but the Newcastle manager believes the heavily incentivised deal makes it a gamble worth taking.
“To bring a local hero like Andy back to Newcastle is fantastic,” Bruce said. “He’s very excited to be home. He’s a big, physical threat in the opposition box and another great option at the top end of the pitch. He gives us something different and we’ll do our best to get him flying again.”
It is all a far cry from Carroll’s £35m move to Liverpool in January 2011 when, much to manager Alan Pardew’s horror, the Newcastle owner, Mike Ashley, sent his personal helicopter to transport the centre-forward to Merseyside.
If that exit upset many Newcastle supporters, it did not provoke anything like the disappointment engendered by Rafael Benítez’s resignation in June and his replacement by Bruce.
Newcastle’s new manager has signed five players – the £40m striker Joelinton from Hoffenheim, the Nice winger Allan Saint-Maximin for a fee potentially rising to £20m, Emil Krafth, the Sweden right-back for £5m from Amiens, Jetro Willems, the Netherlands’ left-back on loan from Eintracht Frankfurt and Carroll.
Such arrivals have failed to derail plans from supporters’ groups to boycott Sunday’s televised Premier League home game against Arsenal and stage a city-centre protest march against Ashley’s stewardship.
The club hope the return of the socalled “Angel of the North” – although some prefer to dub Carroll Newcastle’s enfant terrible in tribute to his sometimes wild youth – will diminish the protesters’ resolve.
The Gateshead-born striker, who was capped nine times by England, was desperate to return to the club where he began his career, scoring 33 goals in 91 appearances before making the unsuccessful switch to Liverpool.
“It feels very good. My friends and family are here and it’s the club I support. It’s home,” Carroll said. “When I left I was scoring goals and enjoying my football. It’s been a pretty tough time since then. For me to get back to where I was, I think this is the only place for me.”
His homecoming has been a distinct possibility since Bruce took charge and immediately began exploring the possibility of acquiring a forward he has long admired.
Although Ashley’s policy is to sign only players aged 25 and under, Carroll’s free-transfer status allied to Bruce’s concerns that, for all Joelinton’s promise, the Brazilian has never been a prolific scorer persuaded Ashley to approve Carroll’s return.