Andy Carroll has agreed a one-year contract extension at Newcastle United, where Javier Manquillo has signed a new four-year deal.
Although Carroll has endured an injury-plagued season and failed to score in 16 appearances since rejoining Newcastle last summer he has contributed some important assists, the latest setting up Dwight Gayle’s goal in Wednesday’s home draw with Aston Villa.
Despite his fitness problems, the 31-year-old former Liverpool, West Ham and England centre-forward is highly valued by Steve Bruce, not least for his influence in the dressing room. On the pitch, Newcastle’s manager believes Carroll is a “game changer” from the bench.
Manquillo, a 26-year-old Spanish full-back signed from Atlético Madrid by Rafael Benítez in 2017, has become an increasingly important part of the first XI under Bruce.
Newcastle are at an impasse in negotiations with the 20-year-old midfielder Matty Longstaff but the academy graduate has agreed a short-term extension until the end of this season.
Longstaff is also wanted by Udinese but with Newcastle soon expected to be taken over by a largely Saudi Arabian consortium he is waiting to hear what the potential new owners have to say before making a decision.
Bruce’s loanees, Danny Rose and Nabil Bentaleb, have signed one-month contract extensions and Internazionale have agreed in principle to extend Valentino Lazaro’s loan by the same period. Rob Elliot, Jack Colback and Jamie Sterry have been released.
“I’m delighted Javier Manquillo and Andy Carroll have extended their contracts longer term,” said Bruce. “They’ve both made important contributions this season. The extensions we’ve agreed will enable us to finish the season as strongly as possible.”
