Newcastle United have given the green light for Dwight Gayle to make a shock exit from the club as Stoke City launch a bid to try and prise the 27-year-old away this summer, according to the Daily Mail.
The newspaper’s report claims that the Magpies are willing to let the 5’8″ striker depart, despite having led the line for the majority of last season, scoring six goals for Rafael Benitez, which would leave the Spanish boss with just outcast Aleksandar Mitrovic and disappointing hitman Joselu as his options up top.
However, north west side Stoke, who found themselves relegated to the Championship last season, have reportedly launched a move to take the former Crystal Palace man to the Potteries with a £10million bid on the table.
Opinion
While Gayle is not exactly a prolific Premier League hitman, he is still the best of a bad bunch at St James’ Park and letting him go without a replacement would be a serious error on Benitez’s behalf. Newcastle need to find some additional firepower over the coming months, and that will be a difficult hunt, especially with the World Cup taking so many top quality strikers away with their countries. Fans will likely back Benitez in any decision he makes though, for the has taken a team to Champions League glory and they have not, and if Gayle does go then they will have faith he is going to bring in some additional recruits to plug the gap. They would likely rather see Joselu out the door, while some are still hoping to see Mitrovic in a Newcastle shirt once again, but those both seem as unlikely as each other. Then again, never say never in football.