Newcastle United forward Dwight Gayle has admitted that a permanent move to West Brom “could be on the cards” after hitting a hat-trick in the 4-0 win at Rotherham on Saturday.
Gayle, 28, joined the Baggies on a season-long loan in the summer with Salomon Rondon heading the other way to St James’ Park.
The former Crystal Palace striker has been in red-hot form in the Championship, and although he is focused on earning promotion this season, he has still suggested that his stay at The Hawthorns could extended past next summer.
“I don’t know really, it could be on the cards,” Gayle said of a permanent move to West Brom, as quoted by the Express & Star. “For me the most important thing is getting promoted this season and finishing in the top two.
“We all know what we’ve got to do and we’ve got a lot of hard work before the end of the season to do that. I’m loving it here at the moment and hopefully that continues.”
OPINION
Gayle would be a terrific permanent signing for West Brom, especially based on his form this season. The striker has scored 13 goals in 20 Championship appearances for the Black Country club, who are serious contenders for an instant return to the Premier League. One major issue about Gayle is his lack of goals in the top-flight. Last season he managed just six goals in 35 league appearances for Newcastle, so if West Brom go up and sign Gayle, they will need to sign another striker for him to share the goalscoring burden with. West Brom should be able to pull off a move if they go up. Gayle, according to statistics website Spotrac, is earning £40,000-a-week on his Newcastle deal, which should be affordable for the Baggies. The transfer fee is likely to be high, especially if he keeps scoring this season, but it might be helped if Gayle pushes for the move himself. West Brom need to get promoted to sign Gayle permanently though as it could be too expensive for them if they stay in the second-tier.