Last season, West Brom’s success could largely be attributed to one man – Dwight Gayle.
Indeed, the Baggies were hugely reliant on the goals the Newcastle loanee scored for them last term, as he netted 24 goals for the Midlands club on their way to a fourth-place finish.
Gayle went back to St James’ Park in the summer, but despite losing their top scorer, the Baggies came back a stronger side, currently sitting top of the Championship, six points clear of the playoff spots.
However, Slaven Bilic has recently revealed that he did indeed try to bring the striker back to the club after his initial loan spell.
What’s the story then?
Gayle is set to return to The Hawthorns on Tuesday evening as the Magpies gear up for an FA Cup clash with the Championship club.
Watch West Bromwich Albion Videos With StreamFootball.tv Below
Understandably, Bilic was asked about Gayle, and he gave an honest answer when speaking about whether or not they tried to sign him in the summer.
“In the summer we tried. We lost 12 players and it’s not good to have such a huge turnaround in a squad,” Bilic said.
“Because he was so good and so instrumental last season, we wanted to get him back.
“We did everything to get him but it wasn’t to be. It was impossible.”
Blessing in disguise
Gayle playing in this Albion team does sound like a mouth-watering prospect, and we can’t even imagine how dominant they may have been if they had him leading the line this term.
However, they should be glad that they didn’t splash the cash on him.
It was widely reported in the summer that the Tyneside club wanted £20m for the striker, and that’s a lot of money for an attacker whose record in the Premier League is more than questionable.
Indeed, the striker has scored just 21 goals in 110 Premier League games, and if he’d have come up with West Brom, there’s every chance that he would have needed replacing anyway.
Instead, the Baggies are on track to earn promotion without Gayle, meaning that the £20m they would have spent on the 29-year-old can now be used at the end of the season on a striker with a little bit more Premier League pedigree.
Gayle would have undoubtedly been a great addition to this Albion team after topping their scoring charts last term, but if they go up without him they’ll be glad that they missed out on his signature – achieving the ultimate objective for this season regardless.
In other news, West Brom’s summer priority should already be clear.
