Dwight Gayle issued a message to Newcastle United supporters following his move to Stoke City.
What’s the latest Newcastle United news?
Gayle, who the club had reportedly been anticipating to leave since the summer of 2017, left St James’ Park after six years on Friday.
A crucial player in the club’s journey back up from the Championship under Rafa Benitez, the 32-year-old has signed a two-year contract with Stoke.
In total, the former Crystal Palace striker scored 34 times in 122 games for Newcastle. 23 of those came during the Championship-winning campaign of 2016/17 and drilling down even further underlines just how crucial Gayle was to the cause. Not only did he contribute in terms of sheer volume of goals, seven of his strikes directly won Newcastle points during that season.
Indeed, with Gayle and the likes of Ciaran Clark (another summer departure), who knows if Newcastle would have sealed a quick-fire return to the Premier League?
What did Gayle say of his departure?
Taking to Instagram after joining Stoke, Gayle said: “Thank you so much to @nufc and the city itself. I’ve loved my time here and you really have made me and my family so welcome throughout. I wish you all the best in the future and look forward to watching your successes.”
Where do Newcastle go from here?
While Gayle would surely not have featured in the first-team anyway, his departure only underlines the need to strengthen in forward areas.
It has been almost a month since the signing of Sven Botman, with the club seeing a loan bid for Armando Broja knocked back and Jesse Lingard’s wage demands proving prohibitive.
Clearly, there is no reason to panic and it’s promising to see decision-makers at St James’ Park treat money carefully, but further reinforcement must arrive.
