Andy Carroll completed a dramatic return to Newcastle United last week, penning an initial one-year deal back at St James’ Park.
The 30-year-old was a free agent all summer following his release from West Ham and has been building up his fitness following ankle surgery back in April.
The towering forward is hoping to make his second Magpies debut against Liverpool next month.
And according to The Chronicle, the club have inserted an appearance based clause in his one-year deal, meaning he can automatically earn another 12 months with his boyhood club if he reaches an unspecified amount of appearances.
But is it the right move by the club?
Read Newcastle verdict
Newcastle have done a similar thing in the past with former midfielder Mo Diame.
It appears to be a clever move. If Carroll returns to full fitness and edges towards the specified amount of appearances to trigger a new deal, the ball is firmly in Steve Bruce’s court.
If he is happy to hand the player another 12 months on Tyneside, he can name him in the side to trigger the clause. However, if the boss isn’t so keen on giving the former Liverpool man another season at St James’ Park, he can always leave the striker out of his match-day squad.
It remains to be seen as to how many appearances Carroll needs to make to trigger a new deal, with a figure between 15-25 the most likely.
