West Bromwich Albion may fight to keep Dwight Gayle after all.
According to the Daily Mail, new West Bromwich Albion boss Slaven Bilic is keen to bring Newcastle United striker Dwight Gayle back to the club this summer.
The Baggies took Gayle on a season-long loan deal last summer, swapping him for Salomon Rondon, who made the reverse move up to Newcastle.
Both players were successes in their loan spells, but Newcastle can’t really sign Rondon permanently until Rafael Benitez’s future is resolved, whilst West Brom still struggle to afford Gayle.
Gayle, 28, hit 24 goals for the Baggies last season, and new boss Bilic is said to be reluctant to lose Gayle from his side as he attempts to mount a Championship promotion push.
It’s stated that talks will take place with Newcastle to see whether a permanent swap can be engineered for Rondon and Gayle, but that’s only part of the battle.
The main issue for West Brom would be Gayle’s wages. There are some big earners at The Hawthorns, and whilst some may move on – such as Craig Dawson and Jay Rodriguez – they may not be able to take Gayle until some go.
That will give other Championship clubs time to weigh up a deal for Gayle, and Bilic will be desperate to get a deal done for the goal machine as soon as possible.
With Rodriguez likely to go, keeping hold of loan star Gayle will at least appease some fans, who will be fearing that West Brom will lose their top two strikers in one go – and Bilic is working to at least ensure Gayle is in a West Brom shirt next season.
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