Are Newcastle right to consider selling Dwight Gayle?

With transfer deadline day now just a matter of hours away, a number of stories are doing the rounds. The futures of the likes of Philippe Coutinho, Virgil van Dijk, Alexis Sanchez and Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain all seem to be up in the air.

However, I spotted an interesting story from Sky Sports this morning claiming that Newcastle are willing to sell striker Dwight Gayle to Fulham. The Magpies are reportedly looking for £20million for the forward after reportedly rejecting a £15million bid for Gayle. Although the Cottagers claim that they have not made such a bid.

For me, Newcastle attempting to sell Gayle at this stage seems like madness. Gayle has not hit the ground running in the Premier League. However, the striker has made just two top-flight appearances, both of which he came off the pitch before the 75-minute mark.

Newcastle need Gayle

Gayle was Newcastle’s top scorer in the Championship last season with 23 goals from 34 appearances. The 26-year-old’s goals were one of the key elements of Newcastle’s promotion campaign.

The Magpies headed into this season with Gayle as their first-choice striker. The striker was once again expected to be a key player for the Magpies, as they look to stay away from the Premier League danger zone.

It seems ludicrous that the north east side would consider letting the striker leave. In truth, Newcastle does not have that much striking cover. Rafa Benitez dipped into the transfer market recently to sign Joselu from Stoke and the Spaniard scored on his full home debut.

However, his struggles to score goals at Stoke suggest he is unlikely to be prolific for the Magpies either. Then there is the mercurial talents of Ayoze Perez and Aleksandar Mitrovic.

Both players have shown flashes of potential and talent during their Newcastle careers. However, they are woefully inconsistent. The pair were also in the Newcastle squad last time the Magpies were relegated. Between the trio, they should score goals. However, there is huge question marks over their ability to score goals in the Premier League.

Gayle at least has proven he can score goals in the Championship. In his last spell in the top-flight, he was also produced a decent amount of goals as well.

Newcastle may make a late striker move

The Sky Sports report states that Newcastle will not sell Gayle until they have found a replacement. To me, if Newcastle are in willing to listen to offers for the striker, then the Magpies may well be preparing a late move in the transfer market for a new striker.

Newcastle owner Mike Ashley has not given boss Benitez much of a transfer kitty this summer. The Spaniard has struggled to strengthen his Magpies squad. The addition of a new striker would be a major shot in the arm for the north east giants.

If Newcastle could find a striker of good quality that would score goals, then maybe there would be a case for selling Gayle. However, for them to sell their top scorer from last season would be a brave move.

There is morning newspaper talk of Newcastle signing Liverpool striker Divock Origi on a season-long loan deal. That could prove to be a shrewd bit of business by the club if they could pull that deal off. However, Tottenham are also reportedly interested in signing the Belgium international.

Firepower vital for survival

Everybody associated with Newcastle will know that scoring enough goals is the key to surviving in the Premier League or in fact any division.

Survival must be Newcastle’s primary aim this season. The Magpies are currently odds of 4/1 to suffer relegation, which suggests that the north east club are not considered favourites for the drop. The bookmakers believe that five other clubs are more likely to suffer relegation this season.

Even after the Magpies 3-0 hammering of West Ham last time out, I doubt many people at the north east club are resting on their laurels. I have to say, though, I would be very surprised to see Gayle leave before the transfer window shuts.

If he does, then Benitez must have lined up a very good replacement, as selling Gayle would leave Newcastle short of players who know where the goal is located.

Should Newcastle sell Dwight Gayle before the summer transfer window shuts?