The Magpies striker is working his way back up to full fitness and BBC Sport pundit Richards thinks Steve Bruce and co are really going to need him.
BBC Sport pundit Micah Richards has given his opinion on Newcastle United’s 5-0 hammering away at Leicester City last weekend, claiming that Andy Carroll would have made more of an impact had he been fit enough to play a bigger part in the game.
The retired England international went on to praise the “different option” that the Magpies’ summer signing provides for Steve Bruce’s side and claimed that the Tyneside outfit are going to need him in what is shaping up to be a relegation battle as he edges closer to full match fitness.
Leicester opened the scoring through Ricardo Pereira’s low finish on 16 minutes and, come half time, they had a goal advantage and a man advantage after Isaac Hayden’s straight red card for a poor tackle on fellow Dennis Praet.
Newcastle capitulated in the second half as Jamie Vardy struck a brace, either side of Paul Dummett’s own goal, and Wilfred Ndidi added a late fifth goal with a shot on the turn to leave the Magpies 19th in the table and Bruce reeling from his joint-heaviest defeat in the Premier League.
What Newcastle needed at times was to play a long ball, to give themselves the chance to move the team up the pitch,” Richards wrote on BBC Sport. “Then they could have started passing it around in the Leicester half. But they did not really have a focal point to allow them to do that, because Andy Carroll was not fit enough to play a bigger part in the game.
“With someone like Carroll on the pitch, you have a different option. You know you can hit one over the top and he will be able to hold it up and allow you to build an attack that way. It relieves the pressure on you at the back too. I am sure he will feature more as he gets his fitness back – and Newcastle are going to need him.”
Carroll, who rejoined Newcastle this summer on a free transfer after leaving West Ham United, is valued at £5.4million by Transfermarkt.
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