Aston Villa are set to bid for Newcastle United centre-forward Dwight Gayle, according to the Birmingham Mail.
The newspaper claims that the 28-year-old is valued at £20million by the Magpies, but Villa “will test the water” with bids that fail to meet that amount in an attempt to strike a bargain deal.
It is understood that Aston Villa’s recruitment staff have already made contact about a potential summer swoop for Gayle when they asked about the striker when they played West Brom in the play-off semi-finals.
Good move for Aston Villa?
Gayle is an amazing striker in the Championship and is probably the best at what he does in the second-tier.
While on loan at West Brom this season, he scored 24 goals in 41 appearances across all competitions for the Baggies as they finished fourth in the standings.
However there have to be doubts about whether he is good enough to play regular Premier League football as he has only scored 21 goals in 99 top-flight outings in English football.
Villa cannot go spending £20million on someone who is proven to struggle to score in the Premier League, they are better off taking a chance on someone younger like Neal Maupay.
This is Futbol rating 3/10
Likely to happen?
West Brom will not be re-signing Gayle despite his red-hot form at The Hawthorns this season and as he does not seem to have much of a future at Newcastle, the ex-Crystal Palace star is bound to be on the move in the summer.
Dean Smith will need to sign one or two strikers, especially if he cannot snap up Tammy Abraham on a permanent deal from Chelsea.
Gayle is a realistic and potentially affordable target.
This is Futbol rating 5/10