OPINION
There’s a lot goes on behind the scenes at football clubs that we as outsiders have no clue about.
Ultimately, if a team decides to keep its lips sealed over a certain issue or a particular deal, it can be difficult for supporters to get to decipher what is true and what is idle gossip.
Take Dwight Gayle and Newcastle United for example. Completely unbeknownst to the vast majority of fans, as reported in the Chronicle, the striker was given a pay rise at the start of the season to convince him to move to West Brom on loan, with Salomon Rondon coming the other way.
In the short term, that pay rise has looked like a prudent move, with Rondon going on to become one of, if not the, most important player in a black and white shirt.
In the long term, however, it could have worrying ramifications for the Magpies.
That boost to Gayle’s earnings could ultimately prove to be the finer detail that ensures Rondon doesn’t sign in a permanent basis.
An increase in Gayle’s salary will almost certainly make it difficult for a Championship to afford his services.
As such the only way you could see West Brom easily completing a deal for him is if they go up through the play-offs. The problem with that is that if the get promoted, they will surely just take Rondon back and be happy with their lot.
Similarly, Newcastle will likely have to pay a hefty fee to land the Venezuelan, a fee that they will no doubt have hoped to offset with the sale of Gayle to the Baggies.
If you take that out of the equation, it’s hard to see how Rondon could be brought in beyond the end of his current loan.
The top dogs on Tyneside haven’t thought this one through too well at all.
