West Brom will not be signing Newcastle United striker Dwight Gayle on a permanent deal this summer, according to the club’s technical director.
The forward hit 24 goals for the Baggies in all competitions this season, but it is understood that the Championship side will not pursue a long term deal for the 28-year-old because of his wage demands.
As quoted in the Express & Star, Albion director Luke Dowling said: “No-one would like to keep Dwight more than myself.
“We can all recognise what he gives us on the pitch and the way he conducts himself off the pitch in the local area – he’s brought his family down from Newcastle for the year, he’s bought into everything we want to do.
“Financially, we were prepared to pay the money for Dwight’s contract for this season. It hasn’t worked out [because we didn’t win promotion].
“Dwight’s contract is a Premier League contract and we will pay Premier League contracts, but we’ll only do that once we’re back in the Premier League.”
OPINION
This is a bit of a twist, and one that could prove just as damaging for Newcastle as it could for West Brom. The general assumption was that there would be some kind of swap between the Magpies and the Baggies, with Gayle going in one direction and Salomon Rondon going in the other. That will not be happening now, it would appear, and that could mean that United face a much harder task than they might have ordinarily when it comes to securing Rondon on a permanent deal. That can still be done, of course, but it will now mean that the South American’s full £16.5 million asking price must be met. Gayle could still help to finance that deal if he is sold on this summer, which you would expect he will be, but certainly, it would have been far simpler if Albion were the ones coming in to give him a new home.
