Should Celtic look at the Newcastle United ace if Moussa Dembele leaves?
There hasn’t been much talk about it yet, but Celtic are bound to receive plenty of interest in Moussa Dembele again this summer.
The Hoops have consistently fended off interest from other clubs – including some in the Premier League – for their prized asset, who has 46 goals in all competitions during his two years in Glasgow, but they might have to admit defeat in the coming months.
You would think and hope that Celtic manager Brendan Rodgers has a long list of potential candidates to replace the former Fulham star, who cost just £500,000 in 2016, but should Newcastle United hitman Dwight Gayle be among them?
Rodgers has already broken the Bhoys’ transfer record to sign Odsonne Edouard on Friday but he is untested over the course of a full season as Celtic’s first-choice striker and therefore the Northern Irishman could and probably should get another hitman in through the door this summer.
Gayle is linked with a move away from Newcastle, with The Mirror reporting that Championship outfit Stoke City are keen.
The 28-year-old, who turns 29 in October, is never going to be a great Premier League striker, having only managed six goals in 35 outings for the Magpies last time around, but he could be brilliant in Scotland.
Gayle, whose brace against Rodgers’s Liverpool in 2014 effectively led to the Reds losing the title, netted 23 Championship goals for Newcastle during the 2016-17 campaign, and surely that’s a very good sign for his capacity to be even more lethal in the Scottish Premiership.
According to Spotrac, the former Crystal Palace earns around £40,000 per week with Newcastle, which is significant, but Dembele’s potential sale, coupled with the probable windfall for reaching the Champions League proper, means Celtic can now compete for players in this bracket.
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