Alan Pardew has revealed that he would be open to bringing West Ham United striker Andy Carroll back to Newcastle United in the future.
Carroll left the Magpies to join Liverpool in a £35m deal in January 2011, before securing a permanent move to Upton Park after a disappointing stay on Merseyside.
The England international has been linked with Newcastle on a number of occasions since his exit, and Pardew admits that he would like to see the 25-year-old back at St James' Park.
"I think he would [want to come back one day], and I hope he does come back to his hometown," Pardew told reporters.
"He has got that love here. I really enjoyed working with Andy. I think he's a terrific player. I know we get linked with him every two weeks, which is always probably going to happen whether it's me or another manager.
"So I'm not going to hide from the fact that I like him. I'm not sure that it's something that's imminent for us in this window, because he looks fairly happy to me at West Ham."
Carroll scored 33 goals in 91 competitive appearances for Newcastle.