You know the silly season is underway again when Fulham have been linked with Dwight Gayle.
The Newcastle United striker has long been rumoured to be a leading Fulham target, even before he made the move to St. James’ Park. The Daily Mail suggested that Fulham’s interest has resurfaced again this afternoon, with additions to their forward line – which currently consists of Aleksandar Mitrovic and very little else in terms of recognised strikers – being Scott Parker’s major priority in January.
Gayle, 30, has just six months to run on his current contract in the north east. He has slipped further down the pecking order at Newcastle after the club brought in Callum Wilson during the summer and has made just ten league starts during Steve Bruce’s tenure. The former Crystal Palace forward made a scoring return from injury with a superb diving header to beat West Brom – but has had to make do with substitutes’ appearances since then.
The Mail suggests that Fulham are prepared to offer a small up front fee – with a considerable additional payment should they avoid the drop this season – in order to make a January deal more attractive for Newcastle. They are not the only suitors lining up for Gayle this month, with former Fulham boss Slavisa Jokanovic rumoured to be keen on taking the striker to the Middle East.
A player we have been linked with since time began.
He has a proven goal scoring record in the lower divisions but not quite the same when playing at top level.
He is a master at winning penalties and his pace and cool eye for finishing has caused problems for many teams.
However, he is now 32 and has suffered his fair share of injuries.
Seeing T.Khan fork out any kind of cash for a player of this age who can’t even get a start in a poor Newcastle team is simply not viable.
What we really want -and need-is a younger version of Gayle.
You would hope that the club would have identified some decent candidates a few months ago and are already in the process of negotiating. But, knowing Fulham, instead of getting somebody in quickly to fill the glaring gap upfront, we will probably have to wait until closer until the end of the window and drop a few more valuable points along the way.
Agree with Charles. Gayle is not exactly a dream signing. For me it is either a top quality loan or young talent that will stay if we go down. Gayle isnt either, but, he may be the best we can get.
Just want to add I fully buy into Mitro weaknesses at this level. Lack of pace is a major issue in the Prem. However, I really feel with all the pace elsewhere in the side a player that can hold up the ball might have been ok (maybe not great but ok). We havent given it a go. Parker has been obsessed with Cav (who definitely isnt a Prem quality striker OR Championship quality striker). Surely give Mitro a proper go until we find the pacy striker we’ve all been calling for since promotion.