Stoke reportedly willing to break transfer record to sign Newcastle’s Dwight Gayle

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Stoke City are interested in signing striker Dwight Gayle from Newcastle United this summer, according to the Chronicle.

They report that the Potters are keen on the English hitman to bolster their attempt to gain promotion back to the Premier League at the second time of asking.

Gayle nearly helped their local bitter rivals West Brom do exactly that last season, but was sent off in the first leg of their play-off semi-final clash against Aston Villa and was powerless to stop them being eliminated on penalties.

And the report quotes a £20 million asking price, which hasn’t put Stoke off, despite being higher than the £18.3 million the BBC claims is their current record, paid for Giannelli Imbula back in 2016.

Getting out of the Championship is so lucrative these days that clubs are willing to pay whatever they can afford in order to get a man through the door who can score the goals to get them there.

But with Newcastle frighteningly short on strikers right now, it would be a risk to let Gayle go. Yes, £20 million should theoretically be enough with which to secure a very good replacement – even Salomon Rondon – but Mike Ashley cannot be trusted not to just bank the money.

Gayle’s £40,000-a-week (Spotrac) wages seem pretty reasonable for a top flight player of his age, and he is capable of netting goals in the top flight, despite his growing repuation as a Championship striker.