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According to Birmingham Live, Aston Villa are weighing up a move for Dwight Gayle who has now returned to Newcastle following his loan spell with West Brom.

What's the word?

Gayle had a fabulous season for the Baggies, scoring 24 times in the Championship as he played a massive part in helping Albion to a fourth-placed finish.

The forward scored against Villa in the play-off semi-finals but was later sent off for a second bookable offence after lunging towards Jed Steer.

However, that doesn't look to have put the Villans off as they are now considering a move for the 28-year-old Englishman.

Birmingham Live claim that Villa are said to have asked about the striker during their play-off meeting with their Midlands rivals, laying down their possible intentions to bring him to Villa Park.

The report suggests that another newly promoted side in Norwich are also interested in his services.

A big mistake

If Villa were to complete a deal for Gayle then it would be an incredibly poor investment. Per Transfermarkt, the player is rated at £10.8m, but he has a particularly poor record in the Premier League.

When it comes to England's second tier, he's a ruthless forward with the ability to score all types of goals.

However, when charged with leading the line at a higher level he simply isn't good enough.

The highest number of goals he's scored in a top-flight campaign is seven so therefore it would be a huge risk if the Villans were to buy him this summer.

Going into the 2019/20 term, they will require strikers who can be relied upon to hit the back of the net.

Villa won't be one of the favourites for relegation but if they don't sign a striker who can score goals regularly at Premier League level, they could find themselves scrapping it out for survival.

Gayle has scored 47 goals in his previous two campaigns in the Championship. But in each of his last four seasons in the Premier League, he's only managed a combined 21.

It's clear where his qualities lie and should they decide to bring him back to the Midlands during the transfer market, they'd be making a considerable mistake.