Newcastle United – Who can fill the hole that Andy Carroll has left?

Who will Alan Pardew bring in to replace Andy Carroll?One of the biggest shocks of the January transfer window was Andy Carroll’s last gasp move from Tyneside to Liverpool. People have criticised and praised the choice to allow Carroll to leave in equal measure.

The sheer amount of money offered probably justifies the clubs choice to sell him but the timing of the deal was far from ideal. The deal was finalised a mere five hours before the 12 o’clock deadline which did not allow any time for Pardew to find a replacement. Newcastle’s other front men have had a torrid time of it this season and had it not been for Carroll and Nolan’s contribution Newcastle might be returning to the Championship a lot quicker than expected. Therefore come summer the £35 million, which surprisingly Mike Ashley has freed up for transfers, will have to be invested in the vacant striker position.

Alan Pardew with his West Ham links has apparently been more than interested in acquiring the services of Carlton Cole. Whilst he certainly is attainable for the club I would question whether he would be such a great asset. His career has never really taken off no matter where he has been despite all that he promised.

If Carroll had stayed at Newcastle then Cole would be a good player. When he is supported by another front man at West Ham he often somehow bundles the ball in which is really all that counts when you’re a striker. However on his own or with one of Newcastle’s current forwards Cole will probably only disappoint.

Newcastle’s biggest problem is that the strikers that they could buy for £35 million do not have any interest in playing for the Magpies. Players like Anelka, Thomas Muller and others of similar calibre are out of reach for Newcastle due to their relatively low standing in the Premiership. Pardew might have been alerted to the current decline of Aston Villa’s position in the league who are plummeting like a stone. Players like Ashley Young will probably be out of reach, due to the fact that Arsenal have been circling around him but there are some players at the club who would be attainable.

Gabby Agbonlahor is one of Villa’s forwards who is certainly affordable and could bag Newcastle twenty goals a season. If the midlands team get relegated then surely Agbonlahor would be looking for a move away from Villa Park. If Pardew plays his cards right then a move to St James’ (sorry, due to the way which football appears to be going it is now called Sporting Direct @ St James’ Park) for the Villa man could well become reality.

The fee that was given to Newcastle was almost as surprising as Mike Ashley’s decision to give Pardew the majority of the money to re-invest into the club. Come summer though they do need to purchase a striker. The force of Leon Best, Peter Lovenkrands and Nile Ranger would struggle to keep Rochdale AFC’s defences up at night and so Alan Pardew (or whoever the manager is at the time, certainly needs to get at least one good striker.

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