Dwight Gayle has scored his first Championship goal for West Brom, on loan from goal-shy Premier League outfit Newcastle United.
The irony of Dwight Gayle starring in a 7-1 thrashing just hours after Newcastle limped to a goalless draw with Cardiff was not lost on the Magpies’ faithful.
Newcastle struggled for goals throughout last season and appear once again to be lacking cutting edge. They failed to break down a stubborn Cardiff side on Saturday and their frustrations were completed when Kenedy fired a weak, stoppage-time penalty straight at home goalkeeper Neil Etheridge.
And the jury remains out on whether Newcastle have got the best of the Dwight Gayle – Salomon Rondon swap. Rafa Benitez has replaced his former number nine with the Venezuelan international who, for all his impressive hold up play, scored just 24 goals in 108 Premier League games for West Brom.
Gayle, you could argue, is more of a naturally gifted goalscorer and could have come in very handy against Neil Warnock’s well drilled Cardiff.
The former Crystal Palace forward scored his first West Brom goal in the 7-1 battering of Queens Park Rangers on Saturday with his movement and speed causing no end of problems across the attack.
And though it is too early to judge Rondon and particularly Yoshinori Muto, a number of Newcastle fans are already questioning the logic of discarding a player with that natural poacher’s instinct.
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