Matthew Chambers Norwich City could face an East Anglian tug-of-war with bitter rivals Ipswich Town for the services of Newcastle striker Andy Carroll.The 6ft 4in Magpies' striker is interested in coming to the Canaries, according to his agent Peter Harrison, and could prove the ideal short-term replacement for leading scorer Jamie Cureton who is out of action after having his appendix removed.

Matthew Chambers

Norwich City could face an East Anglian tug-of-war with bitter rivals Ipswich Town for the services of Newcastle striker Andy Carroll.

The 6ft 4in Magpies' striker is interested in coming to the Canaries, according to his agent Peter Harrison, and could prove the ideal short-term replacement for leading scorer Jamie Cureton who is out of action after having his appendix removed. Roeder made no secret of his concern of over-loading veteran Dion Dublin after Saturday's 1-0 win over Preston, when he admitted he may try again to get a striker on loan as the team braces itself for three crucial Championship matches in the space of eight days. The Canaries could opt to go for an emergency loan for 19-year-old Carroll, when the window re-opens at one minute past midnight tomorrow morning - seven days after the original transfer window shut.

“Andy is certainly interested in Norwich,” said Harrison, who also represents City's Matty Pattison and new Ipswich Town signing Velice Sumulikoski, who was on trial at Norwich before the Macedonia midfielder joined the Blues during the transfer window

“I'm going to sit down and assess the situation with Andy and talk it through, but a lot of it would depend on whether Kevin Keegan gives it the go-ahead.”

Norwich could, however, face stiff competition for Carroll's signature with several other clubs having shown an interest including the Blues.

“There are other clubs interested in Andy with Ipswich being one of them,” added Harrison.

Reports suggested Kevin Keegan stepped in to deny Carroll a loan move away from Newcastle during the transfer window when apparently Swindon Town were keen to sign the giant striker, but a lack of depth at St James' Park prompted Keegan to put a block on the deal.

Since then Newcastle hit-man Obafemi Martins has returned from the African Cup of Nations but is now carrying an ankle injury, while Mark Viduka is still struggling for fitness.

Roeder was linked with teenage striker Carroll during the January transfer window, but decided to concentrate his efforts on capturing the signature of Ched Evans from Manchester City for an extended loan spell. Evans re-joined in mid-January on emergency loan until February 26, with Man City able to recall him at any time after February 6. He's since scored twice for the Canaries.

Roeder gave the Gateshead-born Carroll, who had a loan spell at Preston earlier in the season, his first team debut at the age of 17 in a UEFA Cup tie against Palermo in 2006 and is a player he knows well.

Carroll scored just once in 12 outings for Preston. He scored on his England Under-19 debut in September, a 4-0 win in Belarus, but was then sent home as one of three players to break a curfew.

If Carroll was to join City on loan he would follow in the footsteps of fellow U19 internationals Ryan Bertrand, James Henry and Kieran Gibbs.