Andy Carroll
Carroll was at his best in Newcastle. REUTERS

Newcastle have insisted that the £35 million sale of Andy Carroll to Liverpool made financial sense, despite the club having to let go of one of their up and coming stars.

Carroll was sold to the Reds on deadline day in January 2011 for the momentary record British transfer fee, which was broken within almost minutes by Fernando Torres' £50 million move to Chelsea.

Since his move to Liverpool, Carroll claimed that Newcastle had forced him into signing a transfer request, and the lifelong Toon fan's performances at Merseyside have often been lacklustre.

But Newcastle assistant manager John Carver maintains that the decision to let go their former youth player, who had scored 11 goals for the club before he made the move to Liverpool, was the right one for a number of reasons.

"The money we got is back on the pitch. Yohan, Demba and Papiss have given us our mettle," Carver told the Shields Gazette.

"The proof's always in the pudding. You look at the way the new signings have played along with the rest of the team, and the fact that the three foreign players have come in and done so well.

"People talk about the Premier League and it being difficult to play in, and that players have to adjust to it. They haven't just adjusted to it, they've it done it quicker than we all thought.

"Normally it takes longer. I know Demba already had the experience at West Ham, but the other two have come in and got on with it quite nicely."

Newcastle fans were gutted to let go of their prized young star, but the emergence of Demba Ba has provided a great deal of relief for supporters.

Scoring 16 goals this season, the man who was turned down by Stoke before his move to the Toon has proven to be an invaluable member of Alan Pardew's squad, and came on a free transfer, leaving a good deal of business all round in their wake with Liverpool.

The Reds are currently preparing to face Newcastle at St James' Park this weekend, and Kenny Dalglish believes that the nerves Carroll and fellow ex-Toon star Jose Enrique will harbour can be used as a positive rather than a negative.

"It's not a bad thing is it? If you weren't nervous you'd have a wee bit of a problem," he told the official Liverpool website.

"In my case it was always best to be nervous rather than totally laid back.

"I don't think anyone can be laid back when they go and play at the club that gave him his opportunity in football and turned him into a professional footballer.

"For him [Carroll] and Jose it will be an exciting time to go back."