Fulham is preparing for a bid for Newcastle Striker Dwight Gayle. The side from Craven Cottage is now eighth in the Championships table with 42 points from 27 games. They still harbour hopes of qualifying for the playoffs as they are only 2 points away from sixth-placed Sheffield United and a positive result for them combined with a draw or a defeat for Sheffield would see Fulham jump into the playoffs.
The Fulham board clarified earlier in January that they are not looking to sell any player this window and instead will be looking to add a couple of new faces to their squad to help the team fight for a playoff spot. However, West Bromwich Albion’s interest in Cairney is booming and Fulham may be resigned to losing the midfielder. So now they are planning to use the money they get from the deal of Tom Cairney, who is being pursued by West Brom. The 26-year-old midfielder has been in excellent form this season at Craven Cottage and West Brom are ready to reward him by bringing him to the Premier League
Cairney has scored around 22 goals in over 100 appearances for Fulham and would be a good deal for West Brom, given his football dynamics. However, agreeing to a deal with a Fulham side, who will in no way want to lose their captain, will be difficult.
As for the new signing they want to bring in the form of Dwight Gayle, the Newcastle forward has harboured interest from the West London side for quite some time now with the first spark coming last summer in the transfer window. A deal was agreed between the clubs and a love was imminent only for it to crash last moment. The striker who graduated from the Arsenal youth academy was in seriously good form last season when he helped Rafa Benitez’s men qualify for the English Premier League by clinching the Championship title.
He has, however, been unable to repeat his heroics this time around leaving Newcastle in a tough state. The Magpies have endured a mixed start to their campaign in England’s top league. After a quick start, Newcastle United flopped and their loss in form saw them sink to the lower end of the table. They managed to pause their slump and hold their form, something which saw the club moves back to a respectable position in the league. But another slump saw Newcastle slide down again. They now stand 14th on the table and have collected just 9 of their last 42 available points.
Losing Gayle would spell more damage for Benitez at the club but the Spaniard is keen to bring in reinforcements of his own and hence might agree to sell the Englishman should Fulham meet their asking price.
