Live Commentary

New loan signings Eidur Gudjohnsen and Gael Kakuta could make their first appearances for Fulham in Wednesday's Barclays Premier League clash against Newcastle. Gudjohnsen has been registered for the Cottagers after completing his loan move from Stoke late last night while Kakuta missed Sunday's 4-0 win over Tottenham as he was cup-tied.

David Stockdale is likely to continue in goal as Mark Schwarzer is tired after his exploits with Australia in the Asian Cup and Dickson Etuhu is a doubt with a hamstring injury.

Newcastle new boy Stephen Ireland will not figure after arriving on Tyneside with an injury. The midfielder, who has joined on loan from Aston Villa for the rest of the season, has a hamstring problem which is expected to sideline him for around two weeks.

Midfielder Cheik Tiote completes his three-match ban but skipper Kevin Nolan (ankle) and Danny Guthrie, who limped off with cramp during the 1-1 draw with Tottenham last time out, will be available.

Former Newcastle defender John Anderson has admitted the Magpies simply could not afford to turn down Liverpool's £35million bid for Andy Carroll. As the fall-out from the 22-year-old's shock deadline-day departure continued on Tyneside, Anderson insisted the club had little choice but to accept what was at the time a record transfer fee between British clubs.

Anderson, now a BBC Radio Newcastle pundit, said: "To be perfectly honest, Liverpool have paid £35million with add-ons for a fella who has scored 14 Premier League goals and hasn't had a full season in the Premier League.

"It's a deal you can't turn down. They are buying potential. He is not the proven article. People are saying Darren Bent cost £24million, but Darren Bent has scored goals everywhere he's been in the Premier League.

"I think £35million is phenomenal, it's a huge amount of money for somebody who has had a good start - he's had a great start, he has been excellent for us, there's no doubt about it - but it's a deal they couldn't turn down."

Carroll's 11 goals this season before he was sidelined by a thigh injury catapulted him to national attention and won him a first senior England cap in November last year. But he remains a work in progress and Anderson believes the club was right to cash in on his blossoming talent in January with the big guns already circling ahead of the summer transfer market.

He said: "There's no guarantee that when he does come back from this thigh problem he is going to score goals in the second half of the season, so would he still be worth £35million in the summer?

"Liverpool were desperate for him - they were prepared to go from £30million to £35million plus add-ons, and I just don't think they would have got that sort of deal again. People are saying, `That's us knackered', but a lot of people forget that we haven't had him for the last five games.

"But the thing you would say is, it's only a really, really good deal if the manager is now given that £35million to improve the squad."

In the meantime, the club's remaining strikers face the challenge of providing goals on a regular basis, and Anderson is confident there is enough firepower in the squad to complete the job of securing the club's top-flight status.

He said: "It's going to be very interesting to see what happens. All of a sudden, there's an awful lot more pressure on the likes of Shola Ameobi, Leon Best, Peter Lovenkrands and to a degree, Nile Ranger as well.

"When Michael Owen and Obafemi Martins left, Andy Carroll stepped up to the plate. Now it's up to those guys to do the same. Shola is a bit different - he's the elder statesman, but it's a great opportunity for Nile Ranger to knuckle down and get the job done."