da bet vitoria： According to a recent report from The Northern Echo, Dwight Gayle could be set for a permanent move to West Brom this summer. The 28-year-old is currently on loan at the Championship outfit from Premier League side Newcastle United after struggling with the Magpies in the top-flight last term, while his fine start to life at the Hawthorns has prompted speculation about a permanent move to the Midlands club.
da bet7： And Gayle himself is reportedly keen on making that move permanent come the end of the season, but Dean Smith’s Aston Villa must themselves seek to register an interest and thus beat their Midlands rivals to the £9 million-rated perennial Championship goal-scorer (as per Transfermarkt) in the summer.
The Breakdown
Ultimately, Darren Moore’s Baggies were seen to have pulled off quite the coup in luring Gayle to the Hawthorns during the summer, what with the Englishman one of the most prolific Championship goal-scorers in the last few years.
Be it the 13 goals in 29 appearances he netted for Peterborough United back in the 2012/13 season, or indeed the 23 goals for Newcastle in their run to the Championship title in the 2016/17 campaign, it’s clear that there are few better forwards at second tier level than Gayle.
And he has again proven that this time round with a staggering nine goals in just 14 appearances for Moore’s side, which is why it’s hardly surprising that he’s keen on a permanent move to the Hawthorns – but Villa must seek to beat the Baggies to his signature.
It has been a testing season for the Villans so far given they sit 11th in the Championship table and are onto their second manager of the campaign following Smith’s appointment to replace Steve Bruce, with the former given the brief of going one better than the latter and leading the club back to the Premier League.
That looks set to be a tough task this time round, and it could get even tougher next season given talisman Tammy Abraham, their top-scorer so far this term with five goals, is only on loan until the end of the current campaign.
And while Jonathan Kodjia is clearly a very accomplished Championship player, the other options besides those two don’t inspire a great deal of confidence – Villa may have scored 27 goals already this term but, without Abraham, goals look set to be something of a problem.
And that is why a move for Gayle ahead of West Brom makes complete sense – he knows where the goal is at Championship level, and at the age of 28, he’s very much in his prime now and could be the man to fire the Villans back to the top-flight.
Yes, West Brom will obviously be firm favourites for his signature, but were Smith’s Villa to fail in their quest for promotion this term, they simply must seek to rival and beat the Baggies to his signature come the summer.
Aston Villa fans… what do you think? Let us know!