A big claim has been made on Newcastle striker Dwight Gayle's future heading into the summer transfer window.

What's the talk?

Sky Sports journalist Keith Downie has revealed that the £10m signing from Crystal Palace in 2016 will leave the club ahead of the 2022/23 campaign.

He told GIVEMESPORT: “Dwight Gayle will go in the summer, and then if he wants three strikers, you’d have Callum Wilson, Chris Wood and then another coming in and then maybe even a fourth who can play off one of the wings, but I think he’d be an option, a good option to have off the bench.”

Eddie Howe will be delighted

The Toon manager will be delighted with the news that Gayle will be on his way out of St. James' Park in the coming months. He is wasting a space in the squad because he has had a minimal impact on the pitch throughout the campaign and it is the right time for him to depart.

In eight Premier League appearances this season, the striker has accrued just 30 minutes of action and this indicates that Howe does not trust him to play a significant portion of games. He has not shown the head coach that he offers enough on the pitch to justify regular game time and his situation seems unlikely to change as he turns 33 later this year.

Noel Whelan claimed it was "bewildering" when he was given a new deal last year and cited Steve Bruce's potential exit as one of the reasons why it was a strange decision. Of course, the current West Brom manager was relieved of his duties later in the year and now Howe has been left to deal with the ramifications of that call. 

His previous contract was due to expire in the summer of 2021 and these fresh terms take him through to the end of the 2023/24 campaign.

He has one goal in his 26 top-flight outings since the start of last season and five goals in his last 46 games for the Magpies in the Premier League, illustrating just how baffling the decision to extend his deal was.

This is why Howe will be buzzing to axe Gayle from his squad this summer as he will be able to recoup some money for his services and replace him with a player who can have more of an impact on the pitch for the club.

AND in other news, Howe can get SJP rocking with NUFC swoop for £21m predator with the "scoring nose"...