Kevin Phillips has made a claim about Newcastle United striker Andy Carroll after The Athletic revealed that the representatives of himself, Javier Manquillo and Matty Longstaff have been contacted by Lee Charnley with regards to the possibility of extending their current contracts.

The former Sunderland ace told Football Insider that he expects Carroll to take a big pay cut if he wants to remain in the northeast after it was revealed that the Tyneside club want to extend the centre-forward's deal.

However, Phillips insisted that Carroll can still be an asset to the team and also claimed that he has shown that in glimpses in this season so far. The 31-year old has been limited to just 14 games in all competitions, providing four assists, but us yet to get on the scoresheet himself, as per Transfermarkt.

Discussions are apparently underway despite the prospective £300m takeover of the Magpies still awaiting the final approval from the Premier League. All three players, including Carroll, are out of contract on the 30 June, but Phillips admitted that it is a gamble to hand him a new contract given his injury record down the years.

“There is a player there that loves the football club,” the ex-England international told Football Insider.

“The contract will not be near what he was on and he is a useful tool when you can keep him fit.

“He has showed in glimpses this season that he is a handful but you always run the risk of losing him for a period through injury. It is a slight gamble but one that I would be willing to take because he loves the football club.

“He does not mean to get injured and off the bench he is a useful player.”

Indeed, this is not the first spell that Carroll has had at St. James' Park. The English international had played in 91 games previous to this campaign, where he scored 33 goals and made 21 assists in all competitions across five consecutive seasons, as per Transfermarkt.

Perhaps it is a "slight gamble" to sign Carroll up once again as Phillips suggests but, due to his associations with the Toon, it might be one that Newcastle indeed decide to take.

Geordies, does Carroll deserve a new deal at St James' Park? Comment below with your views!