Pardew reluctantly sold the 22-year-old to the Reds, who host the Magpies on Friday evening, on the final day of the last January transfer window when owner Mike Ashley decided a bid of £35million was simply too good to turn down. That came as a huge blow to the manager, who had seen the Gateshead-born frontman take to Premier League football with a commendable relish under predecessor Chris Hughton and provide the spearhead for Newcastle on their return to the top flight. Almost 12 months on, Carroll's lack of form and that of the man he replaced at Anfield, Chelsea's Fernando Torres, is the subject of an intense debate with the combined £85million which was paid for them looking ever more expensive, especially with Demba Ba, the summer free transfer who has since taken over from Carroll on Tyneside, having already plundered 14 goals this season. However, Pardew, like Liverpool counterpart Kenny Dalglish, remains convinced Carroll will prove his worth sooner rather than later. He said: "He hasn't really had a run in that Liverpool side and like all strikers, he probably needs a run. "He's a great lad and a great player. I like Andy. "It was disappointing to see him left out of the England squad the last time because I think he can be an England player and England's number nine. "He is going through a period of transition at a new club, finding his feet and finding out that they play slightly differently to how we did here, but he will find his way." The Carroll deal was struck so late in the day that the Magpies were unable to invest any of their windfall during the remaining hours of the winter window, and there was fury on Tyneside when, despite months of planning, the big-money buy failed to materialise during the summer either. Ba's form since has gone some of the way towards decreasing the urgency to plug the gap, although his impending departure for the African Nations Cup - Pardew is hoping to hold on to him until January 15 - means there will be a short-term vacancy. The manager said: "We accepted that was going to happen. We knew when we signed him that the African Nations Cup was coming up, so we will just get on with it. "But it will be a loss because he is in great form, of course." Pardew had hoped to have a ready-made replacement in the shape of Sochaux's Modibo Maiga, although he has finally confirmed reports that the proposed £6million deal has broken down following a medical earlier this month. In addition, he revealed that the club is unlikely to look for another frontman during January and will concentrate instead on finding a central defender in the wake of Steven Taylor being sidelined for the remainder of the campaign with an Achilles injury. Pardew said: "As far as we are concerned, we will go with what we have got. It was just unfortunate, and unfortunate for the player. "You can imagine the player is probably more disappointed than anybody else, but these things happen and we will have to do a lot of work now between now and the summer to locate another striker. "You have to pay over the odds in this window, everybody does, and you have to accept that if you are going to invest in this window, and we won't in terms of a striker. "We need to bring in a defender." Pardew's comments came as Montpellier owner Louis Nicollin said Newcastle were "too small" for Olivier Giroud, a striker with whom they have been linked in recent days. Pardew will also hope to fend off interest in midfielder Cheick Tiote having warned potential purchasers that only a "silly" bid would be considered, and that he will not be doing business at the death again. He said: "We are on our guard, like most Premier League clubs are, that your best players might be looked at, but as I have said all along, anybody coming out of here is going to be for a lot of money."
