Spanish football expert Guillem Balague has claimed that West Brom should be able to sit down with Newcastle United and work out a deal for them to sign Dwight Gayle on a permanent basis.
Gayle, 28, has been in stunning form this season, scoring nine goals and supplying five assists in 14 Championship appearances for the Baggies since joining on loan from Newcastle as Salomon Rondon headed the opposite way to St James’ Park.
Balague believes that the two clubs should be able to thrash out terms with one another as both strikers have left their temporary clubs impressed by their form.
“Should Salomon Rondon – on a year’s loan from West Brom – continue to score for his new club then he may will dig them out of a hole, guarantee survival and once again Ashley will believe his approach has been vindicated. With Gayle having gone in the opposite direction to the Baggies, the two clubs should be able to sit down and work out a deal to suit all parties,” he said on the BBC Sport website.
OPINION
Newcastle may want to sign Rondon permanently in the January transfer window so that they can sign another player on loan as they are currently at the Premier League’s limit for temporary signings. Rondon may be affordable if the Magpies want him and Albion would more than likely want to do business so they can boost their transfer budget and solidify an effort to win promotion. Signing Gayle in January would be pulling the trigger too soon though. While Gayle is the best striker the Championship has seen in quite some time, he is not good enough to start in the Premier League. If West Brom don’t go up they might not be able to afford Gayle but if they do go up, they could afford him but they could also afford someone better. Gayle would be an amazing impact substitute and add a great deal of depth in the Premier League. That’s what West Brom should look for if they go up this season.