Dwight Gayle is reportedly set to sign a new contract at Newcastle United, five years after originally signing for the Magpies.

The former Crystal Palace striker originally signed for the club in 2016, departing Selhurst Park for a reported fee of approximately £10m, seeing the Eagles claim a £5m profit on the player.

Steve Parish’s decision to let Gayle leave is a decision that continues to look like an absolute masterclass.

In his time at Selhurst Park, he just did not seem quite consistent enough in the top-flight to justify a regular starting berth. Playing 64 matches for the Eagles in the competition, he netted just 15 times.

Rated at just £2.7m at the time of his switch to St James’ Park, it was certainly fantastic negotiation on behalf of Parish to rake in the fee that he did for the striker.

Since leaving Palace, Gayle’s lean spell in front of goal in the Premier League has only worsened.

Despite having plundered 46 goals in the Championship for Newcastle and West Bromwich Albion, he has scored just 11 times in the Premier League for Newcastle, numbers surely not befitting a £10m forward.

He has scored just once for Steve Bruce’s men this season.

For context, Christian Benteke, who has been commonly castigated for his poor goal return at Selhurst Park has found the net 26 times in the Premier League in the same time period.

Now 31, it also appears that Gayle’s transfer valuation only appears to be on the way down. From its peak of £13.5m in June 2019, it now sits at £4.5m – under half of what Palace managed to sell him for in 2016.

The decision to sell then looks better even five years down the line even with Gayle in line for a new contract.

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