Dwight Gayle may well be one to watch in the Premier League, but he has to get a few early goals to boost his confidence.
Dwight Gayle celebrates scoring for Newcastle United
Newcastle United’s Dwight Gayle had a tremendous season in the Championship, with 23 goals, equal second highest and he also picked up the PFA Fans’ Championship Player of the season. But the jury is out on whether he can lead the club’s front line in the Premier League, as SkySports have discussed.
It’s not just that the quality of the opposition will be tougher for him from August onwards, it’s more a worry for Newcastle fans to consider whether he has improved enough since his days at Crystal Palace?
Gayle will be desperate to make a better go of it this time around than he did when he was at Crystal Palace – with a final season of three goals from 16 appearances and just 15 league goals in three years. He’s always been lightening quick, but he’ll have to evade the astute Premier League defences with more regularity than he has managed in the past.
The team he has around him now at Newcastle know him well of course. They will play to his strengths and what worked well in the Championship under Rafael Benetiz’s management. Gayle at least has the advantage that he knows what the top flight is going to be like and will be familiar with the expectations of the Newcastle United fans.
Newcastle manager Rafael Benitez may find other strike partners to support Gayle
He has been ably supported in part by strike partner Aleksandar Mitrovic who may not be around after the summer, according to the Daily Mirror. But Ayoze Pérez seems more likely to stay on Tyneside and Gayle has to make the most of the partnerships he has made with the players that remain at the club, as well as taking on the challenge of fighting off any new competition.
Newcastle United’s Dwight Gayle is a 50/1 shot with SkyBet to be the Golden Boot winner
SkyBet have Dwight Gale at 50/1 to be the top Premier League goal scorer, equal 22nd in the betting, which might sound long odds, but looking at the other players at 50/1 – Josh King, Danny Wellbeck, Anthony Martial – he’d probably feel he can out scoring these three.
His first aim though just has to be to try and be the top goal scorer for his club, which will probably be hard enough in itself, two-years in a row.
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