Steve Bruce lauds striker as Newcastle United sweat on injured Dwight Gayle

Steve Bruce hopes that Newcastle United fans will see the Andy Carroll “of old” this term – after he kicked off the club’s pre-season campaign in style.

The striker, re-signed last summer on a free transfer, scored the first goal of the second spell at the club in Tuesday’s 3-0 win over Crewe Alexandra in York.

Carroll, 31, is Bruce’s only available striker. Dwight Gayle suffered a knee injury against Crewe, while Joelinton and Yoshinori Muto are yet to take part in pre-season training.

“He was very, very good, and scored a goal,” said head coach Bruce. “I hope you’ve got the goal (on camera), as it was the Andy Carroll of old, wasn’t it?

“We know Andy’s qualities, and the big thing with Andy is to stay well and to stay fit. The rest will look after itself. He’s done very well though. He’s worked extremely hard. Probably, lockdown helped. He looks good.”