Newcastle striker Carroll signs five-year contract

Newcastle striker Andy Carroll signed a new five-year contract with the Premier League club on Friday.

Carroll has been rewarded for his impressive form over the past 12 months, which included scoring 19 goals as Newcastle won promotion from the Championship and netting four times, including a hat-trick against Aston Villa, since the start of this season.

That prolific run has seen Carroll linked with a call-up to Fabio Capello’s England squad.

But the 21-year-old, who was born close to Newcastle’s St James’ Park stadium and is a product of the club’s youth academy, was just delighted to have committed his long-term future to the Magpies.

“All I have ever wanted to do is play for Newcastle United. That’s been the case since I was a teenager, playing for the juniors and reserves, and it’s still the same now,” he told the club’s website.

Playing in the Newcastle number nine shirt made famous by the likes of Malcolm MacDonald, Alan Shearer and Jackie Milburn has added to Carroll’s pride at representing his hometown club.

“Every time I pull on the black and white shirt — and even more so now that I have number nine on my back — it means the world to me, so to be able to do that for at least the next five years is brilliant,” he added.