Newcastle United: Is Dwight Gayle a Premier League striker?

Dwight Gayle has not lived up to expectations at Newcastle United this season, but does that mean he has no future in the Premier League?

Dwight Gayle, Newcastle United’s 27-year-old striker, was a fan favorite last season after scoring 23 goals for the Magpies in the EFL Championship. Rafa Benitez and the Toon Army expected Dwight Gayle to score in double-digit figures this season, but the striker has fallen short of this objective.

Gayle and his striking partner, Joselu, have only managed to score a mere nine goals this season, with five of them coming from Gayle. The scoring woes for Gayle and Joselu have significantly hurt Newcastle United all season.

To put things into perspective, the Magpies have only scored 30 goals as a collective unit in 30 matches. The league’s leading goal-scorer, Mohamed Salah of Liverpool, has scored 28 goals in 30 matches. No one on Tyneside expected Gayle to compete for the golden boot, but only scoring five goals as the club’s primary striker is a major problem.

Premier League Quality?

True or false: Dwight Gayle is a Championship-level striker? False. Despite the fact that Gayle has only scored five goals in 27 appearances this season, he still has the talent to play in the top tier of English football. It is unfortunate that Gayle has only scored five times because he has put himself in positions to score at least 11 or 12 goals this season. The reason why he has not reached that tally is due to a lack of shooting precision.

A Championship-level striker can get lucky from time to time in a superior league, but Gayle has proven that he can score against some elite clubs. In addition to scoring twice against Bournemouth last month, Gayle has scored in impressive style against Manchester United, Chelsea and Leicester City earlier this season.

Furthermore, at the age of 27, Gayle continues to possess more pace and acceleration than some of the league’s youngest talent. Although he has not been a threat this season, Gayle’s pace on a counter-attack has often attracted more than one defender which creates space for other team-mates to get a shot on goal.

A final point to make about Gayle’s quality as a striker is that he positions himself well in the penalty area. His problem this season has been accuracy and knowing when to place the ball with a soft touch and when to fire a shot with power. These are fundamental skills that top-flight strikers should have instilled within themselves, but for some reason, Gayle has struggled with this.

Final Eight Matches

The final eight matches of the 2017/18 campaign will serve as Gayle’s final audition for Newcastle United. It is disappointing to see the primary striker of a club only score in single digits in 27 appearances, but he can make up for those scoring woes when it matters most.

With Islam Slimani wasting everyone’s time on the sideline, and with Joselu simply lacking sufficient skills, it is up to Gayle to score a few more goals. What Newcastle United need from Gayle are at least five more goals to take his tally up to ten.

Five goals in eight matches from Gayle would keep the Magpies competitive in close matches and the speedy forward would most likely save his spot at Newcastle. Definitely not as the primary scoring option for Benitez, but he would be a good option to have coming off the bench in the 2018/19 campaign.