Alan Pardew (talking to the Chronicle): "I think he would (want to come back to Newcastle in the future), and I hope he does come back to his home town.
“He has got that love here. I really enjoyed working with Andy.
“I think he's a terrific player. I know we get linked with him every two weeks, which is always probably going to happen whether it's me or another manager.
"So I'm not going to hide from the fact that I like him. I think he's a good player. I'm pleased that he's fit and not injured, as that's been his biggest problem since he left us.
“I'm not sure that it's something that's imminent for us in this window, because he looks fairly happy to me at West Ham.
"I think it's difficult to take players who are happy out of Premier League teams. It's financially difficult.
"He's sometimes too brave for his own good. He's going full-hearted for challenges when he's off-balance.
"He does that in training as well as in games, so, of course, when you're in a rehab situation he's over-zealous at times purely because he's got that good, football aggression.
"But I don't think there's anything structurally wrong with him - or a major issue. He's just that type. Duncan Ferguson used to get a lot of injuries. It comes with that role.”