FORMER Shaker Jon Newby could be set to make a dramatic return to Gigg Lane.

The ex-Liverpool striker left the club last summer, the unwilling victim in a cost-cutting exercise.

However, twelve months into a two year contract with Huddersfield Town he is out in the cold and wasn't even on the bench for the Terriers' Third Division play-off final victory over Mansfield Town last weekend.

It is believed that Town boss Peter Jackson is willing to release Newby if he finds another club and that's sure to alert his Shakers counterpart Graham Barrow who has made no secret of the fact that he's a big fan of the pacey striker.

In fact, the Shakers supremo admitted as much a few weeks ago when Newby gave the Bury defence a torrid time while on loan at struggling York City.

"Jon is a quality player," he said. "How he failed to fit in with Jon Stead and Andy Booth at Huddersfield I'll never know.

"His work ethic was tremendous when he was with us and you can never have enough strikers.

"Whether we'd be able to do anything remains to be seen."

A self-confessed Shakers fan after spending two-and-a-half years at the club Newby was far from happy at the way he left Gigg Lane.

With the club suffering crippling cash-flow problems, directors decided not to offer him a new deal, a decision that bitterly disappointed the Warrington-born player.

He admitted to having taken a drop in salary to go to the McAlpine Stadium and confessed he'd have been more than willing to stay at Gigg Lane for less money.

Now, with Gareth Seddon opting to sign for Rushden and Diamonds and on-loan Joe O'Neill back at Preston, Barrow will have to shore up his attacking options and Newby would be an ideal replacement.

In 122 appearances in a white shirt he scored 24 goals after moving from Anfield, initially on loan.

He quickly became a crowd favourite with the Gigg Lane fans and during last season he joined them in the South Stand on a number of occasions when he was able to return to watch his former teammates.

After recently moving to the area he would relish the chance to rejoin the club should the opportunity arise.

But with another year left on his contract Newby would have to come to an agreement with the Terriers over any severance deal.