Andy Carroll is nearing a return to fitness as he looks set to undergo the second chapter of his life as a Newcastle United player and has been included in the Magpies' squad for tomorrow's huge clash at home to Brighton and Hove Albion.

The Geordie returned to his boyhood club this summer after leaving West Ham United on a free transfer on deadline day. However, the 30-year-old has been fighting his way back to fitness and only just started training with his new team.

Indeed, this will obviously be Carroll's second stint at his hometown club and, having been vital for the side before his departure to Liverpool all those years ago, the supporters will surely be hoping he finds that goalscoring form once again.

Here are two reasons the Magpies will be boosted by his return.

Opening up a new attacking stream

Carroll endured a torrid time since leaving for Liverpool back in 2011 and perhaps it was no surprise to see him fail so miserably on Merseyside, as the Englishman wasn't exactly a man who had the goalscoring feats to rival the recently departed Fernando Torres.

However, before his departure to the North West, Carroll proved that when wearing the black and white, he can comfortably find the back of the net, scoring 33 goals in 90 appearances for the Magpies (as per WhoScored). With his teammates only averaging 15 crosses per game (the fourth lowest in the division), perhaps the introduction of a man who has averaged winning 6.2 aerial duels per game across 192 analysed career appearances on WhoScored could open up a new attacking stream. Put simply, with him in the team, using more crosses to try and score would make sense.

Help for Joelinton

Joelinton has started well to life at Newcastle, scoring the winner in the memorable game against Spurs and registering an average of 2.3 shots per game so far (as per WhoScored).

However, with just the one goal to his name, perhaps Carroll could help him. Indeed, the pressure could be taken off the former Hoffenheim ace, who has been deployed in support of a striker 21 times over the course of his career (per Transfermarkt), while potentially keeping him in the side.

In fact, within the Sun's profile of the player upon his arrival on Tyneside, they noted his ability to 'vision and mobility to drop deeper and combine', so perhaps the two could form a partnership.