It is apparent that the 2022 signing must leave Stoke City for two reasons: Opinion
Dwight Gayle has been a flop for the Potters, and it might be better for him to leave the Bet365 Stadium in January.
Stoke City’s squad was completely rebuilt this summer, with a lot of money spent on trying to put together a team capable of fighting for the Championship play-offs.
The Potters have finished in the bottom part of the English football table for four years in a row, but head coach Alex Neil has recently been urged to attempt to turn the club’s fortunes around.
There have already been complaints that the new-look City side has not gelled quickly enough, with boos ringing around the Bet365 Stadium during a recent defeat against Hull, but the tide may be turning after a come-from-behind victory away at Bristol City this weekend.
In the summer window, Stoke signed 17 players – 18 if you exclude the short loan spell of Wolves winger Chiquinho – and only 10 players from last season’s first-team squad remain on a permanent basis.
That figure includes reserves goalkeepers Frank Fielding and Blondy Nna Noukeu, so it simply goes to show how much work has gone into changing the appearance of Stoke’s roster, and one of those players who remains is experienced striker Dwight Gayle.
Dwight Gayle’s performance with Stoke City.
Stoke City signed Gayle on a free transfer from Newcastle United last summer, hoping that his experience and goals in the Premier League and Championship would help the Potters reach the play-offs.
Gayle was not an Alex Neil signing because he arrived a month after the striker, but he routinely led the line for Stoke in the early half of the 2022-23 season, but goals proved elusive.
Finally, Gayle scored his first goal for the club in a Championship match against Reading on the 23rd attempt in January 2023, and he finished the season with three goals and five assists from 37 appearances.
Going into the 2023-24 season, though, Stoke had refreshed their options at the top end of the pitch, leaving Gayle somewhat surplus to needs, and you get the idea that when the January transfer window opens in three months, the 33-year-old may have to leave.
Why is Dwight Gayle leaving Stoke City?
Gayle had appeared in just three of City’s first nine Championship games at the time of writing.
All of his appearances have come off the bench, with only 30 minutes played, and while he did participate in all three of Stoke’s EFL Cup matches, he did so as a substitute.
The additions of Ryan Mmaee and Wesley Moraes have pushed Gayle down the pecking order, with Andre Vidigal and Tyrese Campbell also being considered as striker options by Neil when he doesn’t want to play with wingers, so with minimal game-time expected this season, Gayle may be better off looking for a new club when 2024 rolls around.
With a contract that expires next June, Gayle is bound to leave in the summer of 2024 regardless of what happens in January, and there is another major reason why the veteran should consider going early.
As Stoke pushed for a winner against Bristol City at Ashton Gate on Saturday, Neil threw on towering teenager Nathan Lowe ahead of Gayle, and it paid off as the 18-year-old found himself in space at the back post to convert Bae Jun-ho’s cross into a goal that sealed all three points.
Lowe is now destined to be a big part of the first-team squad, having shown exceptional potential in the under-18’s and under-21’s in recent years, and standing at 6 ft 4 in, he certainly has the physical profile to be a success.
He is, however, simply another guy who appears to have surpassed Gayle, and you must also consider Emre Tezgel, another 18-year-old striker with a great future who has been productive at youth level and played four times for the first-team under Neil last season.
Gayle’s continued presence at the club will obstruct the teenage duo’s progress, and it would be better for all parties if he looked into other outfits in January.
