West Brom should sign Gayle

Dwight Gayle
Dwight Gayle

West Bromwich Albion are top of the Championship and boast more goals than any side in the division (50), but they should consider a move for Newcastle’s Dwight Gayle to further boost their promotion hopes.

The Baggies aren’t short of options in attack, but Kenneth Zohore has scored only two goals in 12 league games while Hal Robson-Kanu has six in 20 and is out of contract this summer.

Albion have been reliant on Charlie Austin (19 games, seven goals) at times, so it would take the scoring burden off his shoulders if another striker was brought in. Newcastle have made Gayle available for sale too.

The 29-year-old is out of favour with the Magpies, having racked up only 178 minutes of Premier League football this season, so he should be open to getting first-team football elsewhere.

Gayle has struggled in the top-flight (108 Premier League appearances, 21 goals), but he’s been prolific in the second tier (100 Championship appearances, 59 goals).

The Englishman shone on loan at West Brom last season too, scoring and creating 32 goals in 41 games. He’d be an improvement on Zohore and Robson-Kanu but won’t come cheap.

Gayle reportedly has a £20m asking price and earns £50k-per-week at Newcastle. West Brom could sign him on loan until the end of the season, but they’d need to pay a fee upfront and include a buying option in the deal.

Stats from Transfermarkt.

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