OFFICIAL: Dwight Gayle joins Stoke City on a permanent deal

After a slow start for Newcastle’s sales department things have surely picked up the pace of late: Dwight Gayle is the latest name on the departures list ahead of the 2022/23 season with Stoke City being the club getting his talents.

Gayle becomes the fifth first-team player either sold or loaned out by Newcastle through the current summer transfer window following the steps of Isaac Hayden, Freddie Woodman, Ciaran Clark, and Jeff Hendrick. There is still work to do by the Newcastle front office in order to come up with a final 25-man list to inscribe in the next Premier League season but slowly but surely the spare parts of the squad are finding their way out of Tyneside.

After acquiring Gayle in the summer of 2016 from Crystal Palace, Newcastle turned him into a perennial performer in all national competitions while donning black and white stripes. Gayle ends his time in Tyneside having played 122 games for the Magpies, 48 more than he did for his second most-played-for team (Palace) and with almost three times the games he played for West Bromwich Albion (41).

Gayle appeared on 81 Premier League games over his six seasons at NUFC, scoring 11 goals and also dishing out six assists to his teammates over that period. He will also arrive at Stoke with 11 FA Cup games under his belt (five of them with Newcastle), and a bunch of experience in other minor leagues and cups that he’s been part of during the past few years. All things considered, Gayle bagged 34 goals and shared 11 assists while wearing Newcastle’s uniform.

Stoke is landing Gayle on a free (reported by SkySports) with Watford and Middlesbrough ultimately failing to get their bids praised by club and player. Gayle is thus returning to the Championship level of play in which he thrived with Newcastle—most probably his best season at the club—back when NUFC was still a tweener club trying to find his way toward real contention at the highest of English football levels as it is now.

Originally an Arsenal academy product, Gayle turned pro at Stansted FC before going on to embark on a career that has seen him play for Dag & Red, Bishop’s St., Peterborough, Crystal Palace, West Brom, and lastly Newcastle. He’s now moving once more to land in Stoke, where we hope he finds a place in the starting XI and plays a huge role in the team’s fight for lifting the trophy when all is said and done.

Still 32 years old, Gayle should still have a good bunch of veteran-football years inside of him. Here’s hoping Gayle can help Stoke reach the Premier League after they were relegated back in 2018!