Danny Higginbotham praises Newcastle United loanee Dwight Gayle as West Brom prepare for Aston Villa clash

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Newcastle United loanee Dwight Gayle and his West Brom side will be looking to beat Aston Villa for a second time this season.

Danny Higginbotham has praised the calmness of Newcastle United loanee Dwight Gayle as his West Brom side prepare to come up against Aston Villa in the playoffs.

The Sky Sports pundit has stated ‘time will tell’ whether the Newcastle man will still be at the Hawthorns next season as he warned Villa about how Gayle ‘thrives on pressure’ ahead of these crucial encounters.

Jimmy Shan’s side will make the short trip to Villa Park on Saturday afternoon knowing a win or even a draw would put them in the box set for the second leg next Tuesday.

Speaking to the Match Centre on Sky Sports News (09/05/2019 at 10:50 pm), Higginbotham seemingly suggested that Gayle’s future depends on Albion’s league status as he also mentioned the qualities he possesses in his game ahead of that showdown with Villa.

“Rondon has gone the other way and done extremely well,” Higginbotham told Sky Sports News. “So, time will tell [if Gayle makes his move to West Brom permenant]. Will it be based on whether West Brom getting to the Premier League? But he thrives on the pressure, he likes to be one of the main men, he doesn’t feel it and he enjoys it.

Will Villa’s defence have sleepless nights because of Gayle: “I don’t think they’ll have sleepless nights because the one thing I would say about Villa is that they have become defensively stronger, in particular with Tyrone Mings going there, he has been absolutely outstanding.”

The last time Albion played Villa, they beat them 2-0 at Villa Park, but Gayle was missing for that match because he was serving a suspension.

However, he did play during the 2-2 draw between both teams in December, he found the back of the net on that day and he’ll be looking to do the same at the weekend.

If Albion do go up to the Premier League then there is no doubt that Gayle will receive praise for the contribution he has made to their return.

But if they don’t then a lot will depend on whether Albion can keep him or if Newcastle want to give him another shot in England’s top-flight – a league he has struggled to prove his worth in.