West Brom hold talks over Dwight Gayle return, but face stiff competition from rivals
West Brom are in discussions with Newcastle over a potential return for Dwight Gayle, according to The Northern Echo.
Gayle spent the 2018/19 season on loan at The Hawthorns, scoring 23 goals in 33 league starts as The Baggies narrowly missed out on promotion.
He failed to make a single Premier League start under either Steve Bruce or Eddie Howe last season, and The Northern Echo are reporting that Albion have held talks over bringing him back.
According to the report, Albion have spoken to The Magpies regarding a move, but have so far failed to come up with a suitable financial package for either the player or the club.
Albion will also face competition from Championship rivals Middlesbrough and Watford, but the report suggests that neither of those clubs have presented a suitable deal either.
Get it done
Although Gayle likely will not be the same player he was during his first spell at The Hawthorns, a deal for the 32-year-old is still a no-brainer.
He was electrifying during his loan at Albion under Darren Moore, finishing as the fourth-highest scorer in the league.
While he has barely played since his return to Tyneside, starting just 14 league matches across the last three seasons, he has bounced back from that before.
Before moving to Newcastle in 2016, he had started 19 times across two seasons for Crystal Palace but still racked up 23 goals under Rafa Benitez.
Gayle is a different type of player to both Daryl Dike and Karlan Grant, relying more on pace and agility than the current Baggies duo, so he would offer a genuine Plan B for Albion.
He has always been one of those strikers that are far too good for the Championship, but not quite at Premier League level, so do not be fooled by his lack of minutes last season.
If Albion could find the correct financial package to bring him in, Gayle would be an excellent signing for Bruce.
In other West Brom news, former star Ben Foster has been training with the club as he seeks his next move.