Dwight Gayle currently plays his football for West Brom, but his good run of form will actually benefit Newcastle United.
Dwight Gayle is enjoying a great run of form in the EFL Championship with West Brom and his solid performances are benefiting Newcastle United. Wait, what? Yes, you read that correctly – Gayle’s success in the EFL Championship with West Brom is good news for the Magpies.
This article may have emerged as a result of my early optimism, but it is worth sharing this perspective with the Newcastle faithful. Gayle was loaned out to West Brom in exchange for Salomon Rondon coming to Tyneside in early August.
As a result of Gayle’s disappointing form with Newcastle last season, six goals in 35 appearances, the Toon Army were not too upset to see the striker go to the Hawthorns. With that being said, here is a major reason why Rafa Benitez and Newcastle United will benefit from Gayle’s resurgence in the second tier of English football.
Gayle Out, Rondon In
Thus far in the Championship, Gayle has scored three goals in four appearances for West Brom. Gayle has quickly moved up in the pecking order for the Baggies and if Gayle can maintain this good run of form it will make it easier for Newcastle to retain the services of Salomon Rondon.
Easier does not necessarily mean easy, but Gayle’s ability to score in double figures in the EFL Championship will surely open the door for negotiating a lower price for Rondon’s permanent contract. Signing Rondon was a major headache for Rafa Benitez because the completion of this deal took three months.
To make matters more complicated, West Brom extended Rondon’s contract with the Baggies for 12 additional months. The Venezuelan’s contract was set to expire next summer, but this contract extension now means that Rondon is under contract with West Brom until the summer of 2020.
This is bad news for Newcastle because it means they will have spend more than Mike Ashley would be willing to spend to bring the strong frontman to Newcastle on a permanent basis. However, Gayle is on track to emulate his outstanding form from the 2016-17 EFL Championship season and this will give Newcastle an advantage at the negotiating table.
Is Rondon Worth It?
He might not be showing his true value at the moment, but Rondon is definitely worthy of a permanent contract. Looking at Newcastle’s first few matches against elite clubs, it is clear that Benitez wants to play cautious, defensive football.
As an isolated striker, Rondon cannot do much. As soon as the schedule becomes more lenient over the next few weeks, we can expect to see Rondon score much-needed goals for this club, especially with the talented midfielders he has behind him.