Newcastle forward Dwight Gayle has been praised by West Brom manager Slaven Bilic in the build-up to the two clubs’ meeting in the FA Cup round of 16.
While speaking to the Express and Star, the manager spoke of his qualities: not only “goals”, but his “energy” as well.
The former West Ham manager admitted to trying their hardest to sign him in the summer after he was so influential last year, but he claims that there was no attempt for the player in January.
He said: “When I arrived here he (Gayle) had just left.
“More or less, every other word was ‘Dwight Gayle, Dwight Gayle’. He had a great season and scored many goals.
“But it wasn’t just goals, he gave energy.
“He gave energy on the pitch but also at the training ground.
“In the summer we tried. We lost 12 players and it’s not good to have such a huge turnaround in a squad.
“Because he was so good and so instrumental last season, we wanted to get him back.
“We did everything to get him but it wasn’t to be. It was impossible.”
These are words which are very complimentary to Dwight Gayle, and perhaps there is potential that he is keeping him onside if the club were to pounce again in the summer.
The 30-year-old – rated at £10.8m by Transfermarkt – has a very impressive goalscoring record within the Football League, but there seems to be a bit of a block when it comes to scoring goals in the top-tier, which is understandable considering the step up.
From 110 Premier League appearances, he has scored 21 goals and assisted five; in the Championship, he has scored 59 goals from 100 appearances, with 16 assists, showing an incredible return at that level.
Considering he has just one year left on his contract after this season, there’s a strong chance that, unless Newcastle are relegated, he will be shipped on. Again, it might be a similar situation with West Brom whereby they won’t want him as much when they are in the Premier League, as he has somewhat of a reputation for being a Championship specialist.
When you look at Dwight Gayle’s attributes, you can kind of understand why he might struggle for a lower Premier League side as opposed to a Championship side who are challenging. Obviously there is the difference in the quality of the opposition, but he is only 5’9-ish, so he finds it more difficult to play with his back to goal when his side are giving up most of the possession. He provides a lot of energy and pace to get in behind, but he isn’t as effective at challenging in the air or holding the ball up from direct play.
It’s likely that a Championship move will next be on the cards for Gayle, but it seems as if Bilic isn’t closing off his options just yet.